MILTON, Georgia (Atlanta News First) — Flock Safety has felt the heat this summer from coast to coast as criticism of its automated license plate readers (ALPR) and AI-powered security technology has increased, and a growing number of alleged misuse cases have further turned up the temperature on the debate.

The company announced changes it said address the heart of the majority’s concern — privacy — but civil rights activists and many community leaders remain unconvinced.

Numerous communities have canceled their contracts with Flock in recent weeks, and lawmakers at all levels of government have discussed or already implemented outright bans on ALPR technology in response to public pressure.

However, there are many places where local law enforcement’s relationship with Flock and its network of roughly 120,000 license plate readers have continued or been reaffirmed, with the company telling one trade publication its growth has outpaced cancellations 10-to-1.

That means new devices continue to appear as jurisdictions add to their inventory or upgrade their equipment, including one that was being installed on Aug. 19 on a suburban street outside of Atlanta, not far from the home of Atlanta News First Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe.

Three police cars ended up in the national investigative reporter’s rearview mirror that Wednesday afternoon after he tried to film the technician installing an upgraded camera on a public street, shown in his video story at the top of this story.

The stop is one of at least two documented cases this year in which those working for Flock Safety called police on people engaging in the same category of public recording into which the company asserts its technology fits.

Police stop ANF Investigates in Georgia

After a family member spotted the Flock camera being worked on, Keefe drove to the location to document the camera being set up.

Keefe parked on the public street at a distance, donned a yellow safety vest and a hat emblazoned with the logo of Atlanta News First displayed a press placard on his dashboard and then pulled out a camera to record the installation.

As Keefe began to shoot video, the installer saw him and immediately packed up his equipment and drove away, so Keefe also returned to his car and followed several cars behind, hoping to document the next stop.

The technician called 911.

“I work with Flock Safety. And I called originally because I’m getting followed,” the installer can be heard telling a dispatcher in the recording of the call obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates. “I was getting harassed, pretty much. Taking videos and pictures. And now, the same vehicle that pulled over where I was working at has been following me.”

He described Keefe’s car and, later, Keefe himself, down to his hat and high-visibility vest.

Minutes later, after entering the town of Milton, Georgia, a police officer pulled Keefe over and was later joined by two other units.

When the officer approached, Keefe explained who he was and what he was doing.

“I’m a member of the press, and I was following at a distance because I’m documenting them putting up Flock cameras. I’m an investigative reporter,” Keefe can be heard saying on video from both his own dashboard camera and police body camera obtained from police by Atlanta News First/InvestigateTV.

Body camera footage shows that while Keefe waited on the shoulder, the officer called a supervisor to explain the situation.

“When I came up to them, he was behind him but not like right on his bumper,” the officer said as she reported the details to the supervisor. “He said that, yeah, he was following him to where he was trying to catch this person on video setting up the Flock cameras, but it was not to where you know so close as to break any laws or give the appearance he was stalking him, or anything like that. Yeah, he was following him, but he was not chasing him.”

The officer told Keefe the installer was concerned about being identified.

“He said that he did see you coming out, bringing your camera out and everything,” the officer said.

According to the officer, those given the job of installing Flock cameras have been told “told just to not engage” in such situations.

The officer said the installer was also concerned about privacy.

“And his worry more than anything is that, you know, he’s just an employee. Anybody like you and me. And now he’s going to be in the news and he doesn’t know if it’s going to be targeted at him or his family.”

Keefe asked if the officer was suggesting the installer was entitled to privacy while working in public.

“So just to be clear, he’s entitled to his privacy in a public place?” Keefe asked. “Isn’t that the whole argument that people are criticizing Flock for?”

“I’m not saying that. I’m just letting you know what he’s concerned about,” the officer said. “I’m not telling you how to interpret that.”

However, during the exchange, the officer did make a comment about press coverage.

“I know, media, you know, the First Amendment and all of that,” she said. “But also, we should probably be a little more careful on who we put on TV and stuff like that.”

About 17 minutes after the stop began, the responding officers returned to their vehicles and Keefe was allowed to drive away. In an emailed response to our questions about documenting installation of Flock devices and if the company has guidance or policies surrounding how employees or contractors are instructed to respond, a spokesperson said:

“We do not object to members of the public or press photographing Flock cameras or personnel in public. Employees and contractors working in the field are expected to prioritize their safety and may contact law enforcement when they believe they are being threatened, harassed, followed, or otherwise face a safety concern.”

YouTubers questioned after filming outside distribution center

The Milton stop was not the first time this summer someone working for Flock Safety summoned police over a camera.

On June 5, police in Smyrna, Georgia, responded to a 911 call from a Flock employee after a group of YouTube creators began filming outside the company’s distribution center located in the Atlanta suburb.

In the recording of the 911 call, the caller identifies himself as a Flock Safety employee, going on to note the company’s relationship with law enforcement.

“What’s the name of the business?” the dispatcher asked.

“It’s Flock Safety. We do the license plate reading cameras that solve 20% of crime across America,” the caller replied.

“Fantastic. Of course, of course,” said the dispatcher. “And we appreciate y’all.”

“No, thank you,” the caller said in return, laughing. “We need a favor.”

The caller claimed the group filming had “been driving around the perimeter, basically harassing everyone” working at the facility.

“Three young white males, probably mid-twenties, I’m not sure if they’re armed. And they’re carrying filming equipment as well,” the caller said.

Three times during the call he raised the possibility the people filming might be armed, though, when asked, he told the dispatcher he had not seen any weapons.

When police arrived, body camera footage shows the employee was inside the building, but over the phone identified himself as James Boyce, the distribution site’s quality manager.

Boyce, holding a cell phone, said he was recording.

“Everybody’s recording,” the officer replied.

During the encounter, one of the YouTube creators confronted Boyce on how calling the police about being filmed seemed hypocritical.

“That’s what you guys do to us, without our consent,” he said. “And I think it’s interesting, when you guys have this happen, you call the police and make us get stopped. But then you do it and it’s okay?”

In their emailed statement, a Flock spokesperson claimed the trio’s encounter occurred shortly after another incident at the company’s headquarters where the spokesperson alleged individuals had claimed to have an interview with CEO Garrett Langley and attempted to gain access to the building.

“That understandably raised legitimate security concerns for our employees and our facilities. Those concerns also exist in a broader environment in which Flock employees and contractors have received threats or been subjected to violent rhetoric,” the spokesperson said, referencing social media threads and the arrest of a California man who is accused of threatening a Flock camera installer with a knife and vandalizing the installer’s vehicle.

“We fully support people expressing criticism, asking tough questions, and making their voices heard. Threats of violence, or rhetoric that encourages or celebrates violence against employees, should never be part of that discourse,” the spokesperson said.

No one was charged in the YouTuber group, though the individuals were ordered to leave the premises under an official trespass warning.

Security researcher among those stopped, calls Flock hiding personal information ‘absurd’

Benn Jordan was among those outside the warehouse and identified himself to officers as a security researcher working with the YouTube creators.

Jordan, an online and YouTube content creator himself, has been digging into a variety of privacy and security concerns across the technology spectrum for the last few years.

Months before the incident in Smyrna, Jordan spoke with Atlanta News First Investigates about his previous video report that identified encryption vulnerabilities that would allow anyone to access dozens of Flock camera feeds.

Flock said it determined the vulnerability was present in just 60 to 70 of its AI-powered video cameras and blamed an internet service provider for sending the wrong SIM cards.

Even after the encryption vulnerability was fixed, use of that type of camera certain sensitive public venues continued to draw scrutiny.

Jordan said during the interview that growing negative attention has led some within the company to take extreme measures to hide their personal information.

“That’s the most absurd part of it, is that their response to this controversy is scrubbing data as a company that literally collects data every single time you pass a camera and sends it to law enforcement,” he said.

Flock denies access to conference held for police, security professionals

The heat of growing public backlash — and above-average Georgia summer temperatures — didn’t deter Flock from rolling out the red carpet at the company’s annual law enforcement conference.

Held Aug. 18-20 in Atlanta, Flock Forward 2026 was billed as a chance for public safety and security professionals to gather for “three days of real cases, practical playbooks, and peer-led conversations.”

Jordan tried to attend the conference but was ultimately turned away, as was Atlanta News First Investigates.

In a video he released following the event, Jordan detailed how his registration and hotel booking were canceled four days prior to the event.

Drone video and photos taken by Atlanta News First Investigates from an elevated public walkway that provided a view into a rooftop reception at the event showed law enforcement officers, including some wearing their badges, socializing and perusing Flock items on display.

When we inquired about attending in a journalistic capacity — a common practice and one that other national law enforcement events offer — a spokesperson said: “Flock Forward is a customer event and not open to the media.”

During an interview in April, Keefe actually asked Flock Safety’s Chief Communications Officer Josh Thomas whether the company considers law enforcement agencies to be its customers or citizens.

“So ultimately, I would argue that the whole community is our customer,” Thomas said at the time.

But while Flock as a private company had the ability to limit documentation of its multi-day event — where promotional materials said public safety entities would be able to discuss with the company “how to prepare for city council conversations” and leave with “practical takeaways” such as “ideas for investigations, deployment, connected response, and measurable impact” — frustration continues to grow in many communities where it’s largely impossible to opt-out of Flock’s technology documenting everyday movements and examples of misuse have left people on edge.

“Why can’t I opt out? Why can’t the spouse or ex-spouse of a police officer opt out of this kind of data collection on their movements?” Keefe asked Thomas during the April interview.

“Why can’t the person opt out? It’s because if your car gets stolen, if something were to happen, moreover, the government requires you to have a license plate. It’s the law. And it’s plain view information,” Thomas said. “Your license plate is part of the plain view. And so why can’t you opt out. You can, if you want to opt out of society.”

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