Charlotte residents pressed Flock Safety over privacy and police misuse of license plate reader data at a Tuesday, Sept. 29, community meeting. Bids for CMPD's next camera system are due Monday, Oct. 5.

The meeting at Harding University High School brought Flock representatives face to face with residents and elected officials as the City of Charlotte weighs proposals to replace the police department's aging automatic license plate reader system, WSOC-TV reported. The outcome will shape how officers across CMPD's divisions, including the South Division covering Ballantyne, use surveillance technology.

Jalen Johnson, a public affairs manager at Flock Safety, defended the technology. He said Flock assisted law enforcement in more than one million investigations nationwide last year and helped bring home more than 10,000 missing people.

"We're seeing some of the most heinous crimes amongst us being solved each and every day all across the country," Johnson said at the meeting.

Not everyone was persuaded.

Daniel Oria, an activist who co-founded a local group warning residents about the cameras, told attendees the systems collect data on everyone, not just crime suspects. Oria said people are being tracked without their consent and that the cameras operate at a national level.

The debate carries extra weight after two area officers were arrested in 2026 for allegedly misusing plate reader systems. CMPD officer Seth Elliott, 25, was charged with illegally accessing government computers after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) found he ran an undercover officer's plate through Flock and the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services system, known as CJLEADS, according to WCNC Charlotte. An affidavit alleges Elliott gave the information to a drug target under investigation in Watauga County. He was released on $15,000 bond and placed on administrative leave June 22.

Separately, former Mooresville police officer Elizabeth Anne Snowman was arrested Aug. 6 and charged with misusing the Flock system 31 times to track her boyfriend's ex-wife, WSOC-TV reported. Mooresville Police Chief Ron Campurciani said the department is investigating 10 additional employees for potential misuse.

Flock has responded to the scrutiny by shortening its default data-retention period from 30 days to seven days and requiring case codes for law enforcement searches, according to the Charlotte Observer. The company also now mandates auditing for unusual activity.

In a Sept. 11 WCNC report, Flock CEO Garrett Langley called for stricter penalties for officers who abuse the technology, saying he hopes "state regulators wake up to this problem and also start increasing the penalties."

CMPD does not own or operate Flock cameras but has a memorandum of understanding allowing officers to access Flock devices from other agencies. The volunteer mapping project DeFlock estimates several hundred automatic license plate readers operate in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, including clusters in south Charlotte near SouthPark.

The city published its Request for Proposals (RFP) on Sept. 9 to replace the current system, which CMPD has used for more than a decade. Flock representatives at the meeting would not confirm whether the company plans to submit a bid. No date for a contract award or council vote has been publicly announced.