Cheektowaga residents urge removal of Flock cameras after alleged misuse by police employees

First reported: October 14, 2026 · 1 source

At a Tuesday town meeting, Cheektowaga, New York residents called for dismantling or tightening controls on the town's Flock Safety license plate reader system, citing privacy concerns and questions about oversight. The comments followed WKBW's report last month that three Cheektowaga Police Department employees were suspended amid an investigation into the alleged use of Flock cameras to track a fellow employee. Town Supervisor Brian Nowak declined to comment on the pending investigation but said the town has limited which employees can access the system and increased oversight this year. Nowak said officials are weighing their options and acknowledged the technology can be misused while arguing it also helps investigators.

Why this matters

The dispute shows how a single alleged misuse case can trigger community scrutiny of who can search an ALPR network and how those searches are audited, questions facing many towns that adopted the cameras without detailed access rules.

Key facts

Three Cheektowaga Police Department employees were suspended during an investigation into the alleged use of Flock cameras to track a coworker, as reported by WKBW last month.
The investigation remains ongoing; no findings have been announced and Supervisor Brian Nowak declined to comment on the case.
Residents at Tuesday's meeting split between calls to remove the system entirely and calls for stronger safeguards rather than removal.
Nowak said the town changed which employees have system access and added oversight this year, and said more work remains.
Resident concerns focused on the number of cameras, who can access collected data, and how searches are monitored.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Cheektowaga residents call for removal of Flock cameras after alleged misuse (WKBW, October 14, 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 October 15, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.