Ex-officer who signed Palm Bay's original Flock contract now calls for program's end

Event: August 11, 2026 · First reported: August 11, 2026 · 1 source

Lance Fisher, a former Palm Bay police officer who signed the city's original 2021 contract with Flock Safety, has emailed the City Council asking for an immediate suspension of the automated license plate reader program, saying the system he bought into as a reactive crime-fighting tool has become mass surveillance without adequate oversight. Palm Bay has already suspended the program, but officials attributed the shutdown to concerns that cameras may not have been properly permitted or installed by the vendor, not to privacy issues. City crews placed hood coverings over camera lenses on Monday to show the system was deactivated. Staff are auditing every camera location and will bring findings to the council, which will decide whether to fix the permits and restart the program or terminate the contract.

Why this matters

Criticism from the official who originally procured the technology reframes the local debate from a permitting dispute into a question of oversight and access controls. The pending council vote will set a precedent for whether Florida cities treat ALPR suspensions as paperwork fixes or opportunities to reexamine the underlying contracts.

Key facts

Fisher, who signed Palm Bay's 2021 Flock contract as a police officer, told FOX 35 the program is "mass surveillance" and said the city was sold something different from what exists today.
Palm Bay opened an investigation into camera placement and installation and suspended the program, citing possible improper permitting by Flock Safety rather than privacy concerns.
Fisher said his concerns escalated after a FOX 35 report on a Sumter County detective who was fired and criminally charged over alleged Flock searches involving her husband's ex-wife; those charges are allegations, not findings.
Flock representatives told the council in May that Florida driver data is hard-deleted after 30 days unless saved for an investigation, and that all user searches are logged for audit.
FOX 35 has requested Palm Bay PD's Flock policy and all audit records since 2021; it is not known whether internal audits were conducted or whether any unauthorized searches were flagged. No timeline for the council vote has been announced.

Sources

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

Flock cameras: Former cop pushes for Palm Bay license plate reader shutdown (Fox 35 Orlando, August 11, 2026)

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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 19, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.