'Darth Vader' speaks in support of Flock
The short version: NBC News captured a costumed 'Darth Vader' publicly praising Flock Safety, a viral sideshow that distracts from real questions about ALPR surveillance.
Our Take
NBC News caught a genuinely bizarre moment: someone dressed as Darth Vader standing up to sing Flock Safety's praises, presumably at a public meeting where the company's camera network was on the agenda. Credit to NBC for capturing it — viral or not, it's a reminder that these debates are happening in city council chambers all over the country, often with far less spectacle and far less public attention.
The costume is a joke, but the underlying issue isn't. When public comment periods turn into theater, it's easy for the actual substance — data retention policies, who gets access to license plate logs, whether police are running plates for ICE or bounty hunters — to get lost in the laughs. Flock's pitch to towns leans heavily on 'crime-fighting' anecdotes, but rarely gets scrutinized with the same energy as a guy in a cape gets clicks.
If your town is debating a Flock contract, don't let a costume — or a slick sales rep — be the only voice in the room. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and visit our take-action page for tools to push back before the vote, not after.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NBC News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.