Flock CEO Says Company Has Not Terminated Police Contracts Over Product Abuse
Flock's CEO stated the company has not ended relationships with law enforcement customers despite numerous arrests of officers for misusing its license plate reader database.
What happened
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said his company has not "fired" any police department customers despite widespread reporting of dozens of officers arrested, fired, or forced to resign for abusing access to Flock's nationwide license plate detection database. Langley acknowledged internal debate on the issue but argued the company should not withdraw its product from communities that need it for crime-fighting. He stated Flock would terminate a customer relationship only in cases of "clear widespread abuse" or if a customer "knowingly broke the law," but indicated this threshold has not yet been met. The statement came as protesters gathered outside the venue in costumes and cardboard camera replicas, criticizing Flock's AI-powered surveillance systems.
Context
Flock operates more than 100,000 cameras across the United States, enabling law enforcement to track license plates and cross-reference them against a national central database accessible beyond jurisdictional boundaries. Reports have documented individual officers using the system to stalk people without authorization, and there are documented cases of camera accuracy issues resulting in wrongful arrests. Multiple communities have canceled or allowed Flock contracts to expire citing privacy concerns, while others have physically disabled cameras or switched to competitors like Axon. ICE has reportedly accessed Flock data through collaborations with local police departments, adding federal surveillance dimensions to community concerns. The disputes over Flock's deployment highlight broader tensions between law enforcement surveillance capabilities and privacy objections that span the political spectrum.