Documented Incident
New Hanover County's canceled Flock ALPRs await removal; refund request pending
Event: September 9, 2026 · First reported: September 22, 2026 · 2 sources
Two weeks after New Hanover County Commissioners voted 4-0 to cancel the 20 county-leased Flock automated license plate readers, the cameras remain physically in place. A Flock spokesperson told WECT that removal can take up to 60 days but said the devices have been deactivated and are no longer scanning plates. The county has asked Flock for a $53,571.43 refund covering the nine remaining months of the contract; a county spokesperson said Flock has so far only acknowledged the cancellation. The vote did not cover eight Flock Condor pan-tilt-zoom cameras used for video surveillance at county parks.
The gap between a cancellation vote and actual equipment removal, plus an unresolved refund request, illustrates how much control vendors retain over hardware they own on public property — a practical question for any locality reconsidering an ALPR contract.
Key facts
- Commissioners voted 4-0 to cancel the county's 20 leased Flock ALPRs; Flock says physical removal can take up to 60 days.
- A Sept. 9 email from CFO Eric Credle requested a $53,571.43 refund for the contract's remaining nine months; the county says it is unclear whether Flock will comply.
- The ALPRs were switched off the day of the vote, and the Sheriff's Office disabled internal system access and national data sharing.
- Eight Flock Condor PTZ cameras at county parks were not included in the vote; Sheriff Ed McMahon has said they deter and help investigate crime and are not used to track people.
- Commissioners LeAnn Pierce, Stephanie Walker and Rob Zapple said they are open to discussing the Condor cameras, but no meeting item has been scheduled.
- DeFlock organizer Mark Williams is urging full contract cancellation and said critics would return to an October meeting if the Condor cameras remain active.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- WECT INVESTIGATES : The status of New Hanover County Flock contract , cameras (wect.com, September 22, 2026)
- WECT INVESTIGATES: The status of New Hanover County’s Flock contract, cameras (WECT, September 21, 2026)
More from North Carolina
Everything we have documented in North Carolina, or search every North Carolina 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 September 23, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.