Tempe pulls Flock camera discussion from council agenda
The short version: Tempe says it's dumping Flock's ALPR program, then yanks the public discussion from its council agenda — a move that smells more like damage control than accountability.
Our Take
Credit to Arizona's Family (3TV/CBS 5) for catching the disconnect here: Tempe tells the public it's cutting ties with Flock, then conveniently pulls the follow-up conversation from its own council agenda before residents can ask the obvious questions. Who made this decision, what happens to the data already collected, and is "ending the program" just a rebrand waiting to happen a few budget cycles down the line?
This is a pattern worth watching across the country. Cities announce ALPR wins or reversals in press releases, then slow-walk or bury the actual governance discussion where elected officials would have to answer for it in public, on the record. A camera network doesn't get safer because a city says the word "ending" — it gets safer when there's a transparent paper trail showing the hardware is gone, the data is purged, and there's no quiet renewal clause sitting in a vendor contract.
If you're in Tempe or anywhere nearby, this is exactly the moment to show up and ask for specifics, not talking points. Check our camera map to see what's actually installed in your area, and hit up our take-action page for tools to push your own council toward real transparency instead of agenda-item disappearing acts.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5), published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.