Documented Incident
Washington police report Flock camera vandalism in Covington, Yakima and Ellensburg amid online 'Deflock' push
Event: August 28, 2026 · First reported: August 29, 2026 · 2 sources
FOX 13 Seattle reported that social media videos urging people to disable or cut down Flock Safety automated license plate readers have coincided with vandalism incidents in several Washington cities. Covington Police Chief Adam Easterbrook said four juveniles were arrested after allegedly firing fireworks at one of the department's eight cameras, and a separate investigation into an Instagram post showing camera damage remains open. A camera cut down in Yakima would cost roughly $2,000 to repair or replace, police said, and Sheriff Mike Morrison said a man was arrested for damaging several cameras in Ellensburg. Flock Safety condemned the vandalism, while Easterbrook said opponents should bring privacy objections to city councils.
The incidents show how disputes over ALPR surveillance are moving outside formal oversight channels, and how agencies and vendors are responding with felony charges, decoy cameras and calls to use the political process instead.
Key facts
- Covington police said four juveniles were arrested after allegedly firing fireworks at a Flock camera; arrests are not convictions and another investigation is ongoing.
- A Flock camera cut down in Yakima would cost about $2,000 to repair or replace, according to police.
- Sheriff Mike Morrison said a man was arrested for damaging several cameras in Ellensburg and that decoy cameras with added surveillance have been deployed.
- The volunteer-run DeFlock project maps more than 2,100 ALPRs in Washington; a separate independent inventory lists 2,187, with 1,912 (87.4%) attributed to Flock Safety. Both rely on crowdsourced data and are not definitive counts.
- A Washington law enacted this year limits ALPR data retention to 21 days with certain exceptions and requires agencies to register systems with the state attorney general.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Police see rise in Flock camera vandalism cases (FOX 13 Seattle, August 29, 2026)
- Police see rise in Flock camera vandalism cases (Newsbreak, August 29, 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 2, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.