John Herrmann
The short version: A New Hanover County resident's public comment on Flock ALPR cameras, captured by DeFlockILM, shows why local pushback at commissioner meetings matters.
Our Take
Credit to DeFlockILM for recording John Herrmann's public comment to the New Hanover County Commissioners on Aug. 17, 2026. These meetings are where ALPR policy actually gets decided, and most of them happen without cameras rolling or press in the room. Grassroots channels documenting these moments are doing work that local news often skips.
Public comment periods are one of the few levers residents have before a county signs another renewal contract with Flock Safety. Once a network of plate readers is installed, it rarely shrinks — it expands, and the data-sharing agreements with other agencies and even federal partners tend to get looser over time, not tighter. A single speaker on record asking hard questions about retention periods, audit logs, and who can query the system puts commissioners on notice that someone is watching the watchers.
If you live in a county running Flock cameras, don't wait for a national news story to show up at your doorstep. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to show up at your own commissioners meeting before the next contract renewal gets a rubber stamp.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of DeFlockILM, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.