Multiple flock cameras cut down in the KC metro
The short version: KCTV5 reports Flock cameras being cut down across the KC metro, racking up thousands in damages, but skips the surveillance debate driving the backlash.
Our Take
Credit to KCTV5 News for covering the vandalism angle, but notice what's missing: any real discussion of why someone might be angry enough to cut down a pole in the first place. The story frames this purely as a property-crime and dollar-figure issue—"thousands of dollars" in damage—without asking why residents weren't consulted before these cameras went up on their streets, or what happens to the plate data these devices collect every day.
This is a pattern we see in local news coverage nationwide: Flock and police departments get to define the narrative as "criminals attacking public safety infrastructure," while the actual public safety infrastructure—unaccountable, warrantless tracking of every vehicle that passes—goes unexamined. Cutting down poles isn't a strategy we endorse, but the frustration behind it is real and it's spreading. People are tired of being surveilled by systems they never voted for and can't opt out of.
If you want to know whether the KC metro's damaged cameras are back up, or where the rest of Flock's network is watching in your area, check our map. And if you'd rather fight this through your city council instead of a bolt cutter, our take-action page has the tools to do it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KCTV5 News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.