Documented Incident
Gardner, Kansas Cancels Flock Contract and Shuts Off Four License Plate Cameras
Event: August 17, 2026 · First reported: August 19, 2026 · 3 sources
The Gardner City Council voted Monday to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety, and police subsequently switched off and in some cases covered all four of the city's license plate reader cameras. The vote followed questions from resident Bradley Steinmetz, who told the council that more than 1,200 vendors had access to information through the Flock system and said he could not identify all the entities with that access. Council member Kelly Johnson said the decision applies only to cameras Gardner controls, not those owned by Johnson County or the state, and that the city would review its options regarding those. City officials described the move as part of an ongoing evaluation of technology and resources.
Gardner's cancellation shows how a single resident's questions about third-party data access can prompt a council to end a surveillance contract, while also illustrating the limits of local control when neighboring jurisdictions operate their own cameras.
Key facts
- Gardner's four fixed Flock cameras carried a $33,000 initial deployment cost and a $13,000 annual recurring contract that automatically renewed.
- Resident Bradley Steinmetz told the council more than 1,200 vendors had access to data through the Flock system and that he did not know all their identities.
- Council member Kelly Johnson said the city cannot turn off cameras owned by Johnson County or the state.
- Flock CEO Garrett Langley announced on August 13 that default nationwide data retention would drop from 30 days to seven, with case codes required for searches and automated audit lockouts by the end of 2026.
- The Kansas Justice Institute sued the City of Wichita in Sedgwick County District Court on July 30, alleging its 200-camera Flock network violates Section 15 of the Kansas Bill of Rights; the case has not been decided.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Gardner Pulls Plug On Flock Cameras After Resident Flags More Than 1,200 Vendors With Access (Hoodline, August 19, 2026)
- Gardner , Kansas , pulls plug on Flock license plate readers (kmbc.com, August 19, 2026)
- East Bridgewater Pulls Plug on Flock Cameras After Resident Backlash (Hoodline, August 21, 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 24, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.