Resident presses Texarkana City Council for answers on Flock Safety surveillance camera

Brandon, a longtime Texarkana resident and founder of Liberty Ledger Media, told the council during public comment that he photographed a Flock Safety automated license‑plate reader on Richmond Road and described what he said was continuous collection of license plates, vehicle characteristics, location, and timestamps, with uploads to a cloud database accessible to law enforcement.

Brandon said he had identified contract language and third‑party integrations that worry him and other residents: "Flock standard contract contains language granting the company a worldwide, perpetual, royalty‑free license to disclose the data collected on your residents to other law enforcement agencies," he said. He also raised reports that over‑the‑air software updates could enable video capture on existing hardware.

The commenter asked three questions of the council: whether Texarkana has a contract with Flock Safety and when it was approved; which specific Flock features are active in the city; and whether the Texarkana Police Department has a written policy governing authorized access, legitimate search reasons, and investigation of violations. He said he would file a public‑records request for the city's Flock contract the next morning and would publish what he finds.

Council members did not provide substantive answers during the public comment period. The mayor thanked the speaker and moved on to the business portion of the agenda. No city attorney, police chief, or staff representative provided an on‑the‑record description of any existing Flock contract, the system's active features, or the department's access policy during the meeting.

Why it matters: Automated license‑plate readers collect location and vehicle data that privacy advocates say can be used for tracking and cross‑referencing across agencies; residents asked the council to confirm whether local policy, contract language, or technical settings limit data sharing or new capabilities introduced by remote software updates. Brandon's records request may produce documentary evidence of the city's contract and any restrictions.

Next steps: Brandon said he would file a public‑records request for the Flock Safety contract. The article will be updated if the city posts the contract, responds to the request, or if police or city staff provide an official statement clarifying the system's presence and policy controls.