Documented Incident
Kettering University student sues Genesee County, Michigan over denied Flock records request
Event: August 18, 2026 · First reported: August 21, 2026 · 10 sources
Josh Tewolde, a Genesee County resident and Kettering University student, filed a complaint in Genesee County 7th Judicial Circuit Court on Tuesday after the county denied most of his Freedom of Information Act request about its Flock Safety license plate readers. His request sought the county's contract with Flock, a map of camera locations, data access logs, and records of scans involving his own vehicle. According to the lawsuit, the county said most of the documents belong to Flock and are therefore not subject to public records law, though the suit notes Flock publicly states customers own the data and that the county's own contract says the same. Genesee County and Flock Safety did not respond to the outlet's request for comment.
The case tests whether a government agency can decline to release records tied to a vendor-operated surveillance system by pointing to third-party ownership, a question that shapes public access to ALPR data in other jurisdictions.
Key facts
- Complaint filed Tuesday in Genesee County 7th Judicial Circuit Court; reported August 20, 2026
- Plaintiff Josh Tewolde is represented by Steve Delie, senior attorney at the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, part of the free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy
- The FOIA request sought the Flock contract, camera location map, data access logs, and scans of Tewolde's own vehicle
- The suit alleges the county's stated reason for denial contradicts its own contract with Flock
- No court ruling has been issued; the county and Flock did not comment
Timeline
- August 21, 2026College student sues Genesee County over Flock records
- August 24, 2026Kettering student sues Genesee County over secret Flock camera records
- August 27, 2026Student suing Genesee County over Flock cameras
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- College student sues Genesee County over Flock records (Michigan Public, August 21, 2026)
- College student sues Genesee County over Flock records (wnmufm.org, August 21, 2026)
- College student sues Genesee County over denial of Flock camera records request under FOIA (midmichigannow.com, August 21, 2026)
- University Student Sues County for Flock Camera Records (Mackinac Center, August 19, 2026)
- Kettering student sues Genesee County over secret Flock camera records (Michigan Capitol Confidential, August 24, 2026)
- Kettering University student sues Genesee County, alleges they withheld records on Flock cameras (Michigan Advance, August 24, 2026)
- Kettering University student sues Genesee County, alleges they withheld records on Flock cameras (Herald Palladium, August 24, 2026)
- College student sues Genesee County over license-plate reader records (WNEM, August 24, 2026)
- Kettering student sues Genesee County over Flock camera records request (fox2detroit.com, August 27, 2026)
- Student suing Genesee County over Flock cameras (FOX 2 Detroit, August 27, 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 30, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.