Denver mayor touts Flock cameras for solving a case that isn't solved

Our Take

Credit to Next with 9NEWS for doing the basic accountability work that too often gets skipped: checking whether a politician's talking point matches the actual case file. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston wanted a win for his Flock camera rollout, so he reached for a death investigation as proof of concept. The problem, as 9NEWS found, is that the case isn't solved. That's not a minor factual hiccup — it's the whole sales pitch collapsing under scrutiny.

This is the recurring script in the fight against mass surveillance: officials tout ALPR networks with dramatic anecdotes because vague success stories are easier to sell than hard numbers on cost, false positives, data retention, or who else gets access to that license plate history. When a flagship example turns out to be exaggerated or outright false, it should make every other claim from that same office suspect. If they'll round up on a death investigation, what else are they rounding up on?

Denver isn't unique — this is happening in towns across the country, often with the same inflated language and the same lack of follow-up reporting. Check our camera map to see what's been deployed near you, and if your local officials are making claims that don't add up, take action and start asking for the receipts.