Tampa Bay man protests Flock license plate readers by physically blocking cameras with a sign

First reported: August 13, 2026 · 1 source

Carl Gunn, 77, has been staging weekend protests in the Tampa Bay area by sitting in a lawn chair and holding a long pole with a "Down With The Flock" sign to obscure Flock automated license plate reader cameras, WUSF reported. Gunn said he began after noticing a camera and concluding the surveillance violates his Fourth Amendment rights. Flock said courts have repeatedly disagreed, stating that more than 40 courts have found ALPRs do not violate the Fourth Amendment because they cannot track the whole of a person's movements. Civil liberties advocates and a defense attorney interviewed by WUSF raised concerns about networked tracking, data accuracy and misuse.

Why this matters

The dispute illustrates how individual residents are challenging ALPR deployments outside formal policy channels, and how questions about warrant requirements, audit trails and misuse are surfacing in communities where cameras were installed with limited public debate.

Key facts

Carl Gunn, 77, blocks Flock cameras in the Tampa Bay area with a sign mounted on a pool pole, earning the nickname "Flock Blocker."
Flock said its technology supported more than one million criminal investigations in 2025, assisted in an estimated 20% of solved cases in jurisdictions where deployed, and helped locate over 10,000 missing people.
Flock said more than 40 courts have found license plate readers do not violate the Fourth Amendment; EFF analyst Matthew Guariglia argued a warrant requirement is the "bare minimum" safeguard.
WTSP previously reported a Haines City police officer was arrested and accused of accessing Flock cameras 717 times to track his estranged wife's car; the article does not report a case outcome.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said the cameras do not use facial recognition and that officers who misuse the system face discipline up to termination.
Flock said data is deleted automatically after 30 days unless an agency sets a different retention period, and that each search requires a documented reason and creates an audit trail.

Sources

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

'Don't be following me': Why a Tampa Bay man is protesting Flock cameras by blocking them (WUSF, August 13, 2026)

More from Florida

Everything we have documented in Florida, or search every Florida 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 13, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.