Outside Columbus City Hall on Sept. 28, anti-surveillance and pro-immigrant activists protested the city's use of Flock Safety's automated license plate readers.
It's the fifth time in a little over a month that protesters have come to City Hall to denounce Flock cameras, which are facing growing backlash across the country.
Columbus has paused using its Flock cameras and announced it was covering them after The Dispatch and USA TODAY flagged an officer's search history as suspicious. On Sept. 25, a second Columbus police officer was placed on leave while the city investigates alleged misuse of the technology.
Inside City Hall, Councilmember Emmanuel Remy did not meet his previously announced goal to introduce legislation on Flock cameras by the
council's last meeting of the month. Remy told The Dispatch in a statement that his office continues to work on a comprehensive legislative package for governing surveillance technology in general.
"The recent pause on Flock and the covering of the cameras have given us extra time to do our due diligence on this sensitive issue," Remy said. "That includes productive conversations with community stakeholders and public safety officials, as well as collaborating with the City Attorney’s office on the lawfulness of our proposals."
Remy said the legislation he will introduce later will meet the high standards required for any police technology.
"This isn’t about Flock," Remy said. "That company has lost the support of too many in Columbus and on City Council. Any technology the city may use must be transparent, trusted, and unequivocally up to the task of keeping people safe in every way possible."
But many advocates who are against Flock don't want to see the city simply switch to a different vendor for automated license plate reading cameras.
Asked after the council meeting if Columbus would switch to a different plate-reading camera vendor, Remy said he didn't know yet. He also wasn't sure whether Columbus could restrict the Flock cameras watching drivers on city streets that are contracted for by private businesses and other entities, such as Ohio State University.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus councilmember misses his goal to introduce Flock regulations
