Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers continue to draw backlash across the country, with concerned citizens increasingly taking matters into their own hands.
A New Mexico man, 44-year-old Jevon Martinez, took down 10 Flock camera systems himself on Wednesday, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
Martinez livestreamed himself taking down at least one of the cameras, which he called “tyranny trees.” In the stream, he also showed the back of his pickup truck filled with several other cameras.
“For the record, I am not stealing these. I am not destroying them. I am simply returning them to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department because they left their shit on the side of the road,” said Martinez in the stream.
He was eventually arrested outside the sheriff’s office while trying to deliver the cameras. According to a press release from the police, investigators saw him drive past the headquarters multiple times.
Footage of the arrest from local media shows deputies drawing their guns as Martinez steps out of his truck.
According to the sheriff’s office, the 10 camera systems had a combined estimated value of $16,500. Additionally, only two were associated with BCSO. The other eight were managed by neighborhood associations.
The sheriff’s office called the incident a “publicity stunt.”
“People have every right to question government technology, criticize my decisions and participate in the public debate,” said Sheriff John Allen in a press release. “What they do not have is the right to take the law into their own hands. We will address privacy concerns through policy, transparency and the legislative process, not through reckless stunts designed to generate attention.”
The incident comes just days after the sheriff’s office announced it was cutting ties with the company.
Martinez was booked on charges of attempted larceny over $2,500 and interference with communications.
This isn’t Martinez’s first run-in with police over these camera systems. He was arrested less than three months ago by Rio Rancho police in connection with the alleged removal and damage of three similar license plate readers.
A GoFundMe supporting Martinez, which was created around the time of that earlier arrest, has since received over $30,000 in donations.
This case is part of the growing scrutiny of Flock and its sprawling surveillance network.
Flock sells automated license plate readers primarily to local law enforcement agencies. The cameras record the license plate, make, model, color, and other identifying details of passing vehicles, along with the time and location of each sighting. Law enforcement can then search that data during investigations.
According to Flock, its cameras supported more than 1 million criminal investigations and helped locate roughly 10,000 missing people last year.
Meanwhile, privacy advocates also warn that the cameras collect location data on millions of people who are not suspected of crimes, often without a warrant, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion.
In July, the Los Angeles Police Department also stopped using Flock cameras and allowed its contract with the company to expire.
But even when communities reject the cameras, physically getting rid of them is another story. In Verona, Wisconsin, officials covered their Flock cameras with black trash bags after voting not to renew the city’s contract. 404 Media reported that city officials were unsure whether they could remove the cameras themselves and whether Flock could remotely deactivate them. Similar stories have cropped up across the country, and even when Flock does leave a town, another company often steps in to replace them.
Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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