NORWALK — Community members in Norwalk are calling on city officials to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety, arguing the automated license plate reader system violates residents' constitutional rights.
John Fell, a Norwalk community member, addressed city council Tuesday, saying the cameras amount to an unconstitutional surveillance system.
“In my opinion it violates the Fourth Amendment," Fell said.
According to Fell, data from Flock's own transparency portal raised serious concerns about the scope of the system's data collection.
"Through their own transparency portal, Norwalk was able to tag and log over 128,000 vehicles with only 121 searches. So, that means that for each one of those searches, 1,064 innocent cars that drove through our small town were logged and their vehicle data stored," Fell said.
Fell also raised concerns about potential misuse of the cameras by officers, referencing issues reported in other cities.
Norwalk operates eight Flock cameras. Mayor Dave Light said he was surprised by the community's pushback and defended the system's value to law enforcement.
"I always listen to all the concerns of the citizens, especially topics like this, but so far I think the Flock cameras have been a valuable asset to the police department in solving crimes," Light said.
In a statement, Norwalk Police Chief Scott Dahlgren said the cameras have assisted in multiple investigations, including sex offenses, armed robbery and shoplifting and helped close 30 cases.
The cameras also helped recover $3,000 in appliances stolen from a local store through fraudulent credit card transactions, with the system identifying Cleveland suspects.
Dahlgren said one of the most common misconceptions is that these cameras are used to monitor all citizens. But according to Dahlgren, that is not the case. The Norwalk Police Department uses Flock technology as an investigative tool to assist in solving crimes that have already occurred and to help locate vehicles associated with criminal investigations. Data collected by the system is automatically deleted after 30 days.
Dahlgren says another misconception is that officers can search the system without restrictions. He says that is incorrect. Every search requires the officer to document a legitimate law enforcement reason. The system also maintains audit logs, and the department conducts regular reviews to ensure compliance and prevent misuse.
Light said access to the cameras is tightly controlled.
"We have ours down pretty good over here, where not every officer has access to them, and it has to go through a vetting process for anyone to get on there and see those," Light said.
Not all community members want the cameras removed. Tim Bryant said the system serves an important public safety purpose.
"I would keep them because it's helping the police get the bad guys and people that shouldn’t be committing these crimes,“ Bryant said.
The current Flock camera contract expires in the spring. Light said officials will work together to review everything moving forward to determine what is best for the community. Fell said he believes residents should have a vote on the matter.
"I would really like it for them to make a quick decision based on you know our public you know outcry," Fell said.
Maya Lockett is the Erie, Huron and Richland counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MayaLockett, on Facebook MayaLockettWEWS or email her at Maya.Lockett@wews.com.
