Documented Incident
Akron councilman defends Flock cameras at Ward 6 meeting as vandalism, contract renewal loom
Event: July 16, 2025 · First reported: August 5, 2026 · 1 source
At a July 16 Ward 6 meeting in Ellet, Akron City Council Member Brad McKitrick said residents have criticized the city's Flock license plate reader cameras and that many devices have been torn down or damaged by vandals. He defended the cameras as a crime-fighting tool and said the city's Flock contracts come up for renewal next year, which he expects will prompt extended debate. Akron Police Officer Eric Wagner told attendees that officers do not continuously track everyone and must have a reason to run a search in the system. The account comes from notes taken by an Akron Documenter and is paraphrased rather than a reported story.
Akron's contract renewal decision next year will test how much weight council gives to resident emails and criticism versus police assurances about internal search rules, a dynamic facing many cities as initial ALPR contracts expire.
Key facts
- McKitrick said City Council has received many emails about Flock cameras and cited Cleveland's contract extension as a comparison point.
- Akron began installing Flock cameras in 2022, with a goal of 145 devices citywide, according to a LinkedIn post by the company.
- Camera locations shown in the article come from deflock.org, an open-source, volunteer-run mapping site.
- The number of arrests attributed to the cameras and the extent of reported vandalism were listed as open follow-up questions by the Documenter.
- Akron's Flock contracts are set to expire next year, per McKitrick.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Flock cameras have police support in Akron, others are critical (Signal Akron, August 5, 2026)
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About this record
BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated August 11, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.