Manvel city council votes to end Flock camera use

MANVEL, Texas (KTRK) -- Manvel city council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to end its use of Flock license plate-reading cameras.

Mayor Dan Davis said the city would cover the Flock cameras within 24 to 48 hours and give Flock 30 days' notice that it is ending its contract.

The city approved a contract for 21 Flock cameras in 2024. Many of the same council members who voted for the measure were speaking out against the cameras Tuesday.

"I was on council when this decision was approved, but I would be happy to be a part of its removal," council member Garrett Rossi Knox said.

"Flock obviously has turned out to be a huge machine that we were unaware of," council member David Lands said.

The same concerns frequently voiced by the public about privacy and misuse are shared by Mayor Davis, who grilled Flock representatives appearing virtually Tuesday.

"Does Flock use our data to train its AI tools?" Mayor Davis asked.

"That is a part of making our cameras more accurate," Trevor Chandler, senior director of public affairs for Flock Safety, said.

He said the company does not sell customer data.

At Tuesday's hearing, Manvel police said that 535 outside law enforcement agencies had access to the city's Flock data. Most are in Texas and the rest are in Louisiana.