Stanwood pauses Flock cameras amid public records lawsuits
EVERETT — The city of Stanwood has paused use of its Flock cameras in light of questions over whether footage is subject to public records requests under state law.
The Stanwood City Council approved its $92,000 contract with Flock Safety in November 2024. In February, the city installed 14 automatic license plate reading cameras. The cameras were operating for about four months before the city turned them off in May, City Administrator Shawn Smith said.
In April, an individual requested all Flock camera footage in Stanwood within a one-hour window on March 30. In light of the request, the city decided in June to seek a court judgment that Flock footage either is not public record or is exempt from the public records act for privacy reasons.
Stanwood is seeking the judgment along with the city of Sedro-Woolley, which also received a records request for Flock footage from the same individual, Jose Rodriguez. The cities filed the complaint in Skagit County Superior Court.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/stanwood-pauses-flock-cameras-amid-public-records-lawsuits/