Huntington City Council passes usage restrictions for Flock cameras amid repeal push

First reported: September 15, 2026 · 4 sources

The Huntington, West Virginia, City Council approved an ordinance setting usage limits on Flock Safety surveillance cameras, with two members voting against and one absent. The measure follows a 6-4 July vote approving a five-year, $2.1 million contract for the technology. The ordinance restricts Flock's use of the data, bars sales of data, and prohibits use for immigration enforcement without a warrant, revenue generation, personal curiosity, and traffic, parking or code enforcement, while specifying uses such as homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking and terrorism investigations and Amber and Silver alerts.

Why this matters

Huntington's ordinance is a test of whether written policy limits can address community objections to ALPR contracts already signed, and the parallel petition drive shows residents pursuing a ballot route when council votes do not resolve the dispute.

Key facts

The guardrail ordinance passed with two dissenting votes and one absence; the underlying $2.1 million, five-year Flock contract passed 6-4 in July.
The ordinance prohibits use for immigration enforcement unless a warrant is obtained, and bars use for revenue generation, personal curiosity, traffic, parking or code enforcement.
Mayor Patrick Farrell said the data belongs to the city and that Flock cannot use it for its own commercial purposes.
The group 'Get The Flock Out' said it has gathered about 1,600 of the 4,000 signatures needed to put a repeal question before voters.
According to the report, no members of the public spoke in favor of the cameras at the meeting; several residents and council members questioned whether the limits would be effective.

Timeline

September 15, 2026Flock camera guardrails passed at Huntington City Council
September 15, 2026Huntington council passes new guardrails for Flock cameras
September 16, 2026Huntington Council OKs ordinance to address potential misuse of Flock cameras

Sources

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

Flock camera guardrails passed at Huntington City Council (WCHS, September 15, 2026)
Huntington council passes new guardrails for Flock cameras (wowktv.com, September 15, 2026)
Huntington Council OKs ordinance to address potential misuse of Flock cameras (Charleston Gazette-Mail, September 16, 2026)
Flock camera guardrails passed at Huntington City Council (Newsbreak, September 15, 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 September 16, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.