Police search for suspect who stole 3 FLOCK cameras in Auburn
The short version: Someone in Auburn pulled three Flock ALPR cameras down, and police want answers—we want a bigger conversation about consent.
Our Take
ABC10's report on the Auburn camera heist is a quick three-minute watch, but it taps into something bigger than a property crime blotter item. Whoever pulled those three Flock units down didn't just cost a city department some hardware — they exposed how little public buy-in actually exists for these networks in a lot of towns. Nobody voted on this. Most residents don't know where the cameras are, what they capture, or who can query the data until something like this makes local news.
We're not in the business of cheering on vandalism, and we won't pretend to know the motive here — ABC10 doesn't either, which is to the reporters' credit. But the incident is a useful reminder that these devices are physical objects bolted to poles in public right-of-way, often installed with zero community hearing, and that frustration with unaccountable surveillance infrastructure doesn't stay abstract forever. If you want the above-board version of pushing back, that's public comment at council meetings, records requests, and organized local pressure — not pliers at 2 a.m.
Check our map to see if Flock has quietly rolled into your city, and if you'd rather fight this in daylight than in a parking lot, our take-action page has the tools.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of ABC10, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.