Forty-one residents spoke in opposition of New Hanover County's contract with controversial law enforcement vendor Flock Safety at a Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 17.
For nearly two hours, commissioners heard a variety of concerns regarding the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office's operation of 19 Flock cameras, which use artificial intelligence to surveil vehicle movement. The data is searchable by an unnamed number of law enforcement agencies nationwide, with only 3.9% of inquiries this year coming directly from the county. The county has a $219,000 contract with Flock, and its cameras have been searched nearly three million times since January 2025.
Attorney Mark Spencer Williams, who runs DeFlock ILM, said that his organization has
three requests: pause automated nationwide sharing while the program is under review, provide the unredacted audit records and hold a public hearing in September where all parties can have their voices heard.
"Look at today's agenda," Williams said. "To rezone less than one acre on Market Street, this county required published notice, letters to neighbors, a posted sign, planning board review, a public hearing and your recorded vote. A surveillance system making our citizens' location data searchable by law enforcement across the entire United States only required a signature."
As of Aug. 18, Williams' online petition to remove the cameras had garnered over 3,100 signatures.
After the public comment section, Board Chair LeAnn Pierce said that commissioners are reviewing the contract and plan to discuss it with the county manager.
Vice Chair Dane Scalise said that he had previously met with Williams and that he did an "admirable job" of organizing the community around the issue.
"Many of us up here are seriously concerned," Commissioner Rob Zapple said. "The contract that was put forward in our sheriff's budget, I don't think any of us were aware of what the contract had to say."
Daniel Sheehan covers New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Residents stage protest to 'DeFlock' New Hanover County
