AKRON, Ohio — Three people are facing felony vandalism charges in connection with damage to Flock license plate-reading cameras in Akron as opposition to the controversial technology continues to grow.
Akron police said two men and a woman, all in their 20s, are accused of damaging three Flock cameras, including two in the North Hill neighborhood. One of the suspects is also charged in connection with damage to a Flock camera in Barberton.
Police Lt. Michael Murphy said those responsible knocked down the cameras.
“The individuals responsible for this knocked down multiple cameras,” Murphy said. “They essentially hit them and completely separated the camera from the pole that they were attached to.”
Police said 17 Flock cameras in Akron have been vandalized since mid-summer.
Murphy said the vandalism not only causes property damage but also affects the department’s ability to use the license plate readers in criminal investigations.
He said Akron police have used Flock cameras to help investigate and solve several cases, including the fatal hit-skip that killed Jesse McCool in September.
“We've used them and have shown the ability to use them in a proper way that helps us get justice for families and victims of crime,” Murphy said.
The arrests come as a coalition of 10 community organizations is calling on Mayor Shammas Malik's administration to immediately suspend Akron's automatic license plate reader program while an independent audit is conducted.
The groups cited concerns involving data sharing, alleged officer misuse, camera placement, immigration-related searches and oversight of the technology.
“An audit alone cannot heal the harm done and the trust broken with the community,” the coalition wrote in a letter to city leadership.
The groups called on the city to “suspend the Flock program today” and “bag the cameras” while the audit takes place.
The letter was signed by the Akron Community Action Network, Akron Democratic Socialists of America, Akron NAACP, Akron branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Akron Palestine Solidarity Collective, Buckeye Veterans Coalition, International Institute of Akron, OPAWL - Building AAPI Feminist Leadership, The Freedom BLOC and the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent.
Akron City Council member Fran Wilson has also called for the city to move away from Flock.
“As a city council person with oversight on this technology, I think that we need to cut our contract with Flock,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the concerns the groups raised about Flock have damaged community trust.
“There is many egregious practice that are in place right now, and very little oversight on this technology,” Wilson said.
Akron recently changed how its Flock system operates, no longer allowing outside law enforcement agencies access to the city's network of cameras.
Wilson said that change does not go far enough.
“No matter how we block searches from outside of Ohio, we will continue to have immigration searches on our network,” Wilson said.
Murphy said the city will continue to use the tool as long as it is available to the department.
“We understand people's concerns and frustration with Flock cameras,” Murphy said. “However, that doesn't justify their ability to go and disrupt the service and vandalize the cameras.”
The city's Independent Police Auditor is conducting an audit of Akron's use of the technology, according to the coalition's letter.
