Documented Incident
Grand Rapids officials, Flock reps questioned over ALPR data sharing and ICE access
Event: August 25, 2026 · First reported: August 28, 2026 · 2 sources
At an Aug. 25, 2026 Grand Rapids Public Safety Committee meeting, police officials and a Flock Safety external affairs representative fielded questions about the city's 31 license plate reader cameras and whether the data could reach federal immigration authorities. Flock's Kerry McCormack said the company has no DHS or ICE contracts and that agencies control their own sharing settings; GRPD officials said officers cannot filter searches for immigration or reproductive health purposes. Officials acknowledged the department shares data with some federal agencies but did not name them when asked by Second Ward Commissioner Milinda Ysasi, saying a Flock transparency portal page is in progress without giving a timeline. Advocates including the ACLU of Michigan and Movimiento Cosecha GR said policy assurances are insufficient, with organizer Gema Lowe calling for removal of the cameras.
The exchange illustrates how residents and elected officials in a single city can be told that immigration sharing is blocked while still lacking a public list of which agencies receive the data. It also shows how grandfather clauses in surveillance ordinances can leave long-standing technologies outside routine reporting requirements.
Key facts
- Grand Rapids operates 31 city-owned Flock cameras; officials said they would not disclose camera locations.
- GRPD Deputy Chief Mike Maycroft said no complaints of Flock misuse had been made to the department in the past two years.
- License plate readers are exempt from the city's annual surveillance reporting rules under a grandfather clause because they predate the 2015 surveillance policy; City Manager Mark Washington said he would seek an annual departmental report on ALPR and Flock use.
- Advocates cited an early 2025 search of GRPD's Flock account listing "deportation warrant" as its reason; records reported by WOOD TV suggested ATF conducted it, and officials have described it as a mistake.
- The article notes Tempe, Arizona canceled its Flock contract the day after the meeting, with city officials there saying they had found no misconduct locally.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Grand Rapids police, Flock officials face questions over data sharing and ICE (Michigan Advance, August 28, 2026)
- Grand Rapids police, Flock officials face questions over data sharing and ICE (Herald Palladium, August 28, 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 28, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.