CLEVELAND — While some cities are casting a wider surveillance web, others are questioning who has access to the cameras.
Cameras are everywhere, and in Cleveland, they’re part of the city’s landscape.
Cleveland paused its effort to expand Flock Safety’s footprint to vet concerns brought to the city council and the administration.
Some cities have gone further with surveillance technology, raising concerns about the intrusiveness of cameras and what they can do.
“Solving crime is a lot more complicated than just putting up a camera to deter it,” said security researcher Benn Jordan.
A grassroots group has raised concerns about Flock Safety.
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Jordan created a national buzz over his research on Flock Safety.
In one YouTube video, Jordan explains how he was able to tap into dozens of Flock cameras across the country.
“I want my viewers to appreciate how dangerous that is when you’re seeing all these bad vulnerabilities done legally. I can just imagine okay if this didn’t follow the law, what he would be able to do,” Jordan said.
News 5 Investigators showed Jordan’s video to Cleveland Council Member and Safety Committee Chair Mike Polensek.
“I think there’s a legitimate, some legitimate issue there who can retrieve the data,” Polensek said.
Late last year, the city administration wanted to push through an emergency proposal to expand Flock.
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The city already has Flock license plate readers, but also wants the tech’s ability to listen for gunshots, car crashes, and street takeovers.
The plan is now on indefinite hold.
“So if we’re trying to address issues of public safety and concerns in our neighborhoods, we want to make sure that’s where it’s focused,” Polensek said.
The grassroots group Flockno sent an open letter to Polensek and Mayor Justin Bibb.
The group wants Cleveland to cut ties with Flock and remove the license plate readers when its contract runs out in June.
“Our position is we don’t want any of this technology,” Flockno’s Bryn Adams said.
Many cities across the country use Flock technology, including Dunwoody, Georgia, where Jason Hunyar lives.
Hunyar was rattled by Jordan’s research and reached out to News 5 Investigators as he was preparing for a city council meeting in Dunwoody.
“It really hit home with me because my wife and I had walked on that trail before in front of that camera,” Hunyar said.
A Flock camera, he says, Jordan stood in front of for his YouTube video that is just minutes from his house.
“It was really weird to realize that I’ve been live streamed to the internet,” Hunyar said.
Hunyar spoke up at his city’s council meeting about his concerns regarding Flock Safety.
Flock’s newest representative, former Cleveland city council member Kerry McCormack, was also there giving a presentation about the company’s license plate readers.
McCormack was grilled by council members about who has access to the data. The council also wanted to know if data is shared with ICE.
Dunwoody police responded to that question.
“Ultimately we’re sharing with any law enforcement agency that’s reaching out to us in a law enforcement capacity,” the officer said.
McCormack resigned from the Cleveland City Council last October to join Flock Safety.
Weeks later, the administration pressed to expand Flock in Cleveland without asking other companies for bids.
“We’re going to keep pushing them to cut ties and asking them for transparency around the whole Kerry McCormack thing,” Adams said.
News 5 Investigators received McCormack’s emails through a public records request when he was on the city council.
A month before leaving office, McCormack pondered ethical questions. One email showed McCormack reached out to the Ohio Ethics Commission about his new role with Flock and any restrictions.
We asked Polensek if he had concerns about the optics of McCormack going to Flock and an expansion proposal coming to him a few weeks later.
“No, I didn’t because he has not reached out to anyone that I’m aware of,” Polensek said.
Council member Rebecca Maurer expressed concern during a safety committee meeting last November.
“I hope you understand the hesitancy I have given a member of this body just departed to take a job at Flock that we now have a sole source contract without an RFP process,” Maurer said.
Jordan recommends more research and less spending on surveillance tech. He says cities should test vendors with their own cybersecurity contractor and add fees for inspections before vendor contracts renew.
“When you have big data and when you have all this information being shared nationwide across agencies you can’t just put the cap back on and say okay we’re going to keep it away from the bad guys. It doesn’t work that way,” Jordan said.
Cleveland Public Safety Director Wayne Drummond said last November that McCormack’s job with Flock has nothing to do with the expansion effort.
A city spokesman says since 2023, when Cleveland got Flock license plate readers, they have not received any requests from ICE to directly access the systems and that Cleveland police have never and will never use the tech for immigration enforcement.
