Video: Auburn City Councilor Terry Cuddy on Flock contract
The short version: An Auburn city councilor is publicly weighing in on the police department's Flock Safety contract, and that scrutiny is exactly what these deals need.
Our Take
Credit to The Citizen Newspaper for getting a local official on the record about a Flock Safety contract. Most of these deals get rubber-stamped in a single council meeting with little debate, so a councilor like Terry Cuddy asking questions is the kind of oversight that should be standard practice everywhere, not the exception.
We don't know yet whether Cuddy's comments lean skeptical or supportive, but the fact that a contract covering automated license plate readers is getting any public airing at all is notable. These systems quietly log the movements of every driver who passes a camera, feeding a searchable database that police departments across the country can tap into, often with vague policies on data sharing, retention, and who gets access. Contract language matters enormously here, and elected officials who actually read it before voting are doing their job.
If you live in or near Auburn, this is the moment to show up to a council meeting or reach out to your rep before the ink dries. Check our camera map to see what's already been deployed nearby, and use our take-action guide to figure out how to push for real accountability instead of a rubber stamp.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The Citizen Newspaper, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.