Darth Vader Protest Targets Flock Cameras as 100 Municipalities Drop or Reject Contracts
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 21
Darth Vader Protest Targets Flock Cameras as 100 Municipalities Drop or Reject Contracts
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 21
Summary
A man dressed as Darth Vader used a San Diego City Council committee meeting to mock Flock Safety cameras, casting the license plate readers as tools to surveil children and stalk former partners.
The stunt landed as Flock faces widening scrutiny over misuse and errors, including a Louisiana deputy fired for tracking his ex-fiancee's car more than 3,000 times and a San Diego man jailed for a month after a false match.
San Diego council members voted in December to keep the system, which Flock says helps police recover stolen vehicles and find missing people.
About 100 municipalities had deactivated, canceled or rejected Flock contracts by August 2026, according to DeFlock, even after the company announced new audit-assistance rules that some legal experts called insufficient.