Documented Incident
Covington police chief says most of city's eight Flock cameras damaged over two months
Event: August 28, 2026 · First reported: August 29, 2026 · 9 sources
Covington, Washington Police Chief Adam Easterbrook said in an Aug. 28 email that the majority of the city's eight Flock Safety license plate cameras had been damaged or destroyed over the previous two months. He attributed the damage to what he described as a large social media campaign encouraging people to disable the cameras to prevent government surveillance and misuse. Juveniles were arrested in connection with damage to one camera; Easterbrook said charges had not yet been submitted while police await repair cost estimates to determine whether the case should be a misdemeanor rather than a felony. A second incident, in which he said the people involved posted video of themselves damaging cameras, remains under investigation.
The Covington case shows how ALPR deployments are being contested outside formal channels even as neighboring councils debate them, and it highlights how repair costs can determine whether vandalism is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.
Key facts
- Chief Adam Easterbrook said most of Covington's eight Flock cameras were damaged or destroyed over roughly two months, per an Aug. 28 email.
- Juveniles were arrested over damage to one camera; the chief said charges were pending a repair cost estimate to avoid overcharging as a felony.
- Covington contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for police services and launched its Flock system in 2024; city councils hold the contracting decision.
- Renton's City Council has paused Flock use; some Auburn residents have asked their council to remove cameras, with no action taken.
- Easterbrook cited declining Covington crime stats — auto thefts of 125 in 2023, 99 in 2024, 55 in 2025 and 19 through July 2026 — while noting many factors affect crime rates.
- Easterbrook said intentional misuse of the systems was recently made a gross misdemeanor in Washington and that Flock has added auditing tools that flag unusual search patterns.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (Seattle Weekly, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (mi-reporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (bothell-reporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (courierherald.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (kirklandreporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (redmond-reporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (bellevuereporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (kentreporter.com, August 29, 2026)
- Damages done to Covington Police Flock cameras over 2 months (rentonreporter.com, August 29, 2026)
More from Washington
Everything we have documented in Washington, or search every Washington article in the archive.
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 29, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.