Oshkosh City Council rescinds Flock camera contract after false statements
Original: City of Oshkosh, WI rescinds Flock camera contract renewal after company rep makes false statements to City Council
Why This Matters
Highlights trust issues between surveillance tech vendors and government clients over capability transparency
Oshkosh, Wisconsin City Council unanimously rescinded its contract renewal with Flock Safety less than 24 hours after approval. Police Chief Dean Smith cited false statements about heat mapping capabilities made by company representatives during council meetings.
The Oshkosh City Council voted 5-2 to renew Flock Safety's license-plate reading camera contract on Tuesday, then unanimously rescinded it Wednesday after Police Chief Dean Smith reported security concerns and misrepresentations. Smith said Flock representatives falsely told the council their systems did not create heat maps to track vehicles, which police determined to be untrue. Council members who initially supported renewal apologized, with Joe Stephenson stating he couldn't make proper decisions when lied to. Flock Safety called it a 'small misconception' and noted their system recently helped capture Wisconsin's Most Wanted murder suspect, but were not given opportunity to clarify directly with city leaders.