Franklin County schedules sheriff presentation on Flock Safety cameras after public concerns

The Franklin County chair announced that Sheriff Seitz will present on Flock Safety automated license-plate readers at the board's Aug. 19 evening meeting, and the chair said legal staff including the district attorney have been invited to discuss the legal aspects.

"I have instructed staff that on the 19th for our evening meeting, that the sheriff will be here to do a presentation on flock cameras," the chair told commissioners, asking residents who agree or disagree to attend. The announcement followed multiple public comments urging transparency about the sheriff's contract with the vendor and concerns about privacy and scope.

Public commenters raised constitutional and operational worries earlier in the meeting. Austin McDaniel, who identified himself as a 23-year-old IT technician, argued aggregated plate-reader data can create invasive surveillance patterns and invoked the "mosaic theory" of the Fourth Amendment. "They are logging identifying attributes and giving police a 30 day timeline into people's movements," McDaniel said during public comment.

Valerie Jordan asked the board to publish the sheriff's contract with Flock Safety and said more public information was needed about costs and annual fees. The chair framed the Aug. 19 presentation as an opportunity to hear technical and legal perspectives directly from law enforcement and the county's prosecutors and encouraged public attendance.