Reporter Pulled Over After Flock Safety Calls 911 on Him for Filming Camera Installation
Investigative reporter Brendan Keefe was stopped by three Milton, Georgia police officers after a Flock Safety employee called 911 to report being followed and filmed. Keefe had been documenting the installation of the company’s license plate reader cameras on public roads near his home.
Keefe parked at a distance from the installation site and put on his yellow press vest before setting up camera equipment. The Flock worker quickly packed up his ladder and drove away. Keefe followed several cars back to observe the next location. Minutes later, three police cruisers pulled him over.
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP: FLOCK CALLS THE COPS AFTER REPORTER SURVEILS THEM
After a Flock employee reportedly said people who want privacy can “opt out of society,” reporter Brendan Keefe followed and filmed a worker installing a Flock camera on a public road.
Flock responded by…
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Officer Smith explained the stop during the encounter. The officer told Keefe that a vehicle reported being followed. Keefe identified himself as a member of the press documenting the camera installations. The 911 call from the Flock employee alleged harassment through videos and pictures.
Flock Safety operates a nationwide network of license plate reader cameras that the company claims helps solve 20 percent of crime across America. The firm maintains a database tracking vehicle movements and sells access to police departments. The technology records the location and time of every vehicle that passes within view.
The company previously told citizens concerned about privacy that they could opt out of society if they wanted to avoid the cameras. That statement came during Keefe’s ongoing investigation into Flock Safety and police use of the surveillance network. When the same public-space recording was turned on one of its own workers, the company immediately sought law enforcement protection.
Keefe was released without charges. The stop lasted long enough for three officers to verify his press credentials and hear his explanation. No citation was issued. No arrest was made. The encounter served only to interrupt his documentation of a public activity on a public road.
Flock Safety has worked to limit outside scrutiny of its operations. The company hosts annual conferences for law enforcement customers but bars independent media from attending. Keefe purchased a ticket to Flock Forward in August. The company refunded his money and canceled his hotel reservation. When he attempted to enter anyway, police guarding the door kept him out while other officers socialized with company representatives on the patio.
The firm’s relationship with law enforcement creates a partnership where public accountability becomes difficult. Police departments buy access to the surveillance network. Flock hosts events where officers mingle with sales staff. Independent journalists trying to report on the technology face physical barriers and police intervention.
The 911 call itself reveals the double standard at the heart of Flock’s business model. The company sells constant surveillance of American drivers. It tells concerned citizens they have no practical choice but to accept being tracked.
Keefe drives under those same Flock cameras every day on his commute. The devices record his location and movements just as they do for millions of other Americans. The company collects that data, stores it, and sells access to government agencies. Citizens have no say in whether they participate. They have no control over who sees their travel patterns. They have no recourse if the data is misused.
This is not a story about one reporter being pulled over. This is a story about a private firm building a nationwide tracking network with government partnership and then using law enforcement to shut down public examination of how that system actually works. The cameras go up in neighborhoods without meaningful community input. The data flows into government databases. And anyone who tries to shine a light on the process finds police suddenly interested in their activities.
Flock Safety wants surveillance to work in one direction only. It wants to watch without being watched. It wants to collect data without being questioned. It wants to partner with police without being examined by the press. The Milton stop made that preference clear. The company will use the same government resources it supplies to protect itself from the scrutiny it imposes on everyone else.
Keefe’s investigation continues. The cameras keep recording. And the question of who watches the watchers remains unanswered by a company that believes privacy is something only it deserves.