Why Americans are DESTROYING Police Cameras! 🤯#flock cameras
The short version: A viral video on vandalized Flock cameras shows public frustration boiling over, but destruction isn't a substitute for organizing against ALPR surveillance.
Our Take
"The simple stories." dropped a video with a title that practically writes our headline for us: people are angry enough at Flock Safety's license plate readers to start ripping them down. We haven't independently verified the specific incidents shown, but the broader trend is real — camera vandalism reports have popped up in communities across the country as residents realize these devices were often installed with zero public input, zero city council debate, and zero accountability for who gets access to the data.
We get the impulse. Flock's network now logs billions of vehicle movements a year, shared across a patchwork of police departments, federal agencies, and private subscribers with little oversight. When people feel surveilled without consent and shut out of the decision-making process, frustration turns into direct action. But a torn-down pole gets replaced within days, and vandalism gives departments a convenient narrative about "attacks on public safety" that distracts from the actual policy failure: no warrant requirement, no retention limits, no transparency.
The more durable fight happens in city council chambers, public records requests, and local elections — not with bolt cutters. Check our camera map to see what's logging your plates right now, and head to take-action for ways to push back that actually stick.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The simple stories., published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.