Public records lawsuit filed over UC Berkeley police ALPR data as students push to end Flock contract

Event: August 28, 2025 · First reported: September 4, 2026 · 1 source

Daniel Negrete, director of the student-led Ellis Collective, filed a petition in Alameda County Superior Court on Aug. 28 alleging the UC Board of Regents failed to fully respond to a Feb. 17 public records request seeking UCPD automated license plate reader audit logs, data-sharing settings and lists of agencies with access. A campus spokesperson said UC Berkeley had received the suit, declined to comment on litigation generally, and said the records have been released. Days later, students gathered at Hearst Field Annex to build a local "DeFlock" campaign seeking to end the university's Flock contract and bar future ALPR agreements without community input.

Why this matters

The case tests whether public records law can force disclosure of ALPR audit logs and sharing settings — the records that would show whether California's restrictions on out-of-state data sharing are being followed.

Key facts

Petition filed Aug. 28 in Alameda County Superior Court against the UC Board of Regents; a similar suit by Negrete over UC Riverside records remains pending.
The Ellis Collective previously reported that UC campuses shared ALPR data with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies, which it alleges violates California Senate Bill 34.
Organizers said the city of Berkeley operates 52 Flock cameras and UC Berkeley has six at student housing in Albany and Emeryville under a two-year pilot.
Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said in May that UC Berkeley does not allow ALPR data sharing for immigration enforcement or with federal agencies, and said the system has aided more than 100 investigations.
A December 2025 report from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center lists an ALPR data-sharing agreement with UC Berkeley.

Sources

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

UC Berkeley faces lawsuit over Flock records as surveillance controversy grows (Daily Cal, September 4, 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 September 5, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.