Indy AI Research Docs
Indy AI Research Docs · Flock · research as of Sep 26, 2026

How Cities Dropped Flock

Campaigns that ended or paused Flock license plate camera contracts: who ran them, how they won, and what they still haven't won. Each one has a grade for how well the reporting on it holds up.

ASeveral independent outlets plus a primary record (vote, audit, city release). Organizers named, methods described.
BSolid news coverage from one or two outlets. Some people named, methods partly described.
COne outlet or a short item. The outcome is confirmed but there's little on who organized it or how.
DOnly a roundup mentions it. Treat it as a lead to research, not a model.

What worked across these campaigns

  • Time it to the vote. Every win came at a renewal, a budget appropriation, or a funding request. Austin's coalition tracks renewal dates so they can step in before the vote.
  • Records requests produced the turning points. Pflugerville found 459 agencies searching its data, Bloomington pried the contract loose on the eighth request, and Oak Park showed its data went to agencies in abortion-ban states, Indiana included.
  • Left and right together. Fort Wayne's campaign was a conservative founder, a Democratic candidate, and AFP-Indiana ads, and the council vote was unanimous. Kosciusko is a Republican county.
  • Stay in the room. Weeks of public comment in Fort Wayne, 200+ people in Harrisonburg, a room at capacity in Kosciusko.
  • Meet councilors one on one. Harrisonburg's council publicly thanked residents who "schooled us" in private meetings.
  • Use local data and officials' own words. Oak Park showed 84% of Flock stops were of Black drivers and held the village president to her 2022 promise.
  • Check how the contract was signed and paid for. Kosciusko's contract was signed only by the prosecutor, never approved by commissioners, and funded through a donation fund. That made it void.
  • Offer an alternative. Oak Park proposed violence interruption, non-police crisis response, and a youth bike program in place of Flock spending.

What they didn't get

  • Cameras stayed up. Fort Wayne's cameras were still standing after the vote. Bloomington protesters found a Condor camera still running downtown in July.
  • No ban on the next vendor. Harrisonburg is still pushing for an ordinance covering any mass-surveillance company. Fort Wayne's LPR ordinance was withdrawn. Bloomington says it is "evaluating other options."
  • Loopholes. Austin police still reach plate data through Axon and other agencies' cameras. State police cameras stay up in Texas. The sheriff and IU police still use Flock around Bloomington.
  • A pause is not an ending. Columbus and Hamilton County paused pending audits and both leaders said they value the tool. Cleveland let its contract lapse, then renewed two weeks later.