Darth Vader 'supports' Flock cameras at city council meeting
The short version: A Darth Vader costume stole the show at a San Diego council meeting, but the joke lands on a real point: the Empire loves surveillance too.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: whoever put on that Darth Vader costume at San Diego's city council meeting understood the assignment better than most paid consultants. "The emperor is a fan of Flock" is the kind of line that sounds absurd until you remember Flock's network already scans hundreds of millions of plates a month, shares data across agencies with little oversight, and has a documented history of being misused by officers running personal favors. Sith jokes aside, that's a real empire of cameras — just one that answers to a private company's board instead of a fictional galaxy far away.
CNN's clip is a reminder that these council meetings, however theatrical, are where Flock contracts actually get decided. Public comment is one of the last places residents can push back before a city signs on for years of automated tracking. It's easy to laugh at a guy in a cape, but the underlying warning — unchecked power loves more surveillance, not less — is dead serious.
If your city is debating Flock or already running it, don't wait for a costume party to speak up. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and hit take action for tools to make your voice heard before the council vote, not after.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CNN, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.