Tulsa Police detail Flock use at town hall: 108 cameras, 250-mile sharing radius, 30-day retention

Event: October 19, 2026 · First reported: October 20, 2026 · 1 source

At an Oct. 19, 2026 community forum, Tulsa Police Department leaders described the department's use of Flock Safety automatic license plate readers, saying TPD owns 108 cameras, has access to 160 privately owned cameras, and pays roughly $377,000 a year for the system. Officials said new Chief Jonathan Brooks set the data-sharing radius at 250 miles, putting 319 agencies in position to query TPD data and vice versa, and that the department kept a 30-day retention period rather than adopting Flock's revised seven-day recommendation. Commanders said ICE does not have access to TPD's ALPR system and that the cameras are not used for immigration enforcement, though agencies within the sharing radius could run queries for their own purposes. Questions were submitted online in advance; TPD did not take live questions.

Why this matters

Tulsa's disclosures illustrate how local ALPR policy choices — retention periods and regional sharing radii — can extend a city's surveillance data far beyond its own agency and oversight, a tension facing many communities deploying the technology.

Key facts

TPD reported owning 108 Flock cameras plus access to 160 privately owned cameras, at about $377,000 annually.
Maj. Ryan Perkins said the 250-mile sharing radius puts 319 agencies in potential two-way query access.
TPD retained a 30-day retention period after Flock lowered its recommended default to seven days in August.
Capt. Shane Tuell and Deputy Chief Mark Wollmershauser Jr. said the cameras are not used for immigration enforcement and that ICE lacks access; the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, unlike TPD, has a 287(g) task force agreement.
U.S. District Judge Sara Hill recently ruled a Tulsa County deputy's ALPR searches before a traffic stop likely violated the Fourth Amendment; Sheriff Vic Regalado disagrees and expects an appeal, according to News on 6.

Sources

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

What we learned about Tulsa’s use of Flock Safety cameras (Tulsa Flyer, October 20, 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 October 23, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.