Will Freeman of deflock.org has sued the Boulder Police Department, alleging 31 Flock license-plate cameras were installed without privacy safeguards and amount to unconstitutional mass surveillance under Colorado law. Freeman’s tracker lists 102,374 mapped Flock cameras nationwide and 68 cities that have blocked the technology. Boulder says searches are logged, require supervisor approval, and credits the cameras with reducing vehicle thefts by 34.5%; Flock notes courts have repeatedly upheld fixed LPR systems.
Colorado Man Sues Boulder Police Over Flock Cameras, Alleging Illegal Mass Surveillance
File Photo for illustration purposes. Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika.
Will Freeman, operator of deflock.org, has filed a lawsuit against the Boulder Police Department alleging that the agency’s deployment of Flock Safety license-plate reader (LPR) cameras constitutes unlawful, mass surveillance that violates Colorado’s constitution.
What the lawsuit says
The complaint claims Police Chief Stephen Redfearn deployed 31 fixed Flock cameras without implementing adequate privacy safeguards. It argues the system can track residents’ movements without individualized suspicion or a warrant, creating what the suit describes as a "detailed mosaic of every person's daily life — where they go, when they go there, and how often." Freeman also says a request to obtain the data the system collected on his vehicle was denied.
"I don't think most people know the full extent of what these cameras can do. The biggest concern is the data they collect," Freeman told Denver7.
Numbers and public tracker
Freeman’s site, deflock.org, publishes a map and tracker of Flock cameras nationwide. The tracker currently lists 102,374 mapped Flock cameras across the United States and notes that 68 cities have taken steps to block or reject the technology.
Responses from Boulder and Flock
The Boulder Police Department said searches of the Flock system are logged and require supervisor approval. The department also attributes a 34.5% reduction in vehicle thefts to the use of the cameras.
File Photo for illustration purposes. Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika.
Flock Safety issued a statement noting that courts have repeatedly reviewed similar legal challenges and upheld the constitutionality of fixed automated license-plate readers. Paris Lewbel, Flock’s Public Relations Manager for the Public Sector, emphasized that customer agencies "own and control their data and set their own policies for access, retention, and sharing in accordance with applicable law," and said Flock would not comment further because the matter involves pending litigation.
Civil-rights attorney’s goals
Civil-rights attorney Andy McNulty, who represents Freeman, told reporters the case aims to set a legal precedent in Colorado that could limit or stop the local use of LPR networks that track movements and potentially interfere with privacy rights.
Where the case stands
The City of Boulder confirmed the lawsuit and said municipal attorneys are evaluating the claims. As the matter is now in litigation, officials said they will respond through court filings and hearings.
Key facts: The suit focuses on 31 cameras in Boulder, a nationwide tracker that lists over 100,000 Flock cameras, disputed access to collected data, and competing claims about public-safety benefits versus constitutional privacy risks.
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