Hi neighbors,
Last night something important happened at the City Council meeting. Councilmember William Paige, who voted for the Flock camera contract on June 5, publicly stated his opposition to the system. He specifically called out Flock’s lack of transparency about its relationships with federal agencies like Homeland Security — the extent of which has only recently come to light.
His remarks centered on a simple but powerful theme: transparency.
Here’s part of what he said:
“The question I want to ask is: did the city know, when we voted for the Flock contract on June 5, that Flock already had a contract with Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection? I don’t know the answer, but I hope it’s no. I suspect it’s no.
The reason I ask is because we all heard concerns that day — and before and after that day — from the community about making sure Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection would not have access to our data. We had a Flock representative right here listening to those concerns. And yet, at that same time, Flock already had a contract that allowed those federal agencies to access data. They never shared that with us.”
Paige described the moment of realization in very personal terms, recalling a lesson from his grandmother:
“When I was young, I got in trouble at my grandma’s house. She asked me a question about what I did. And I gave her the answer that I thought I should give her. And she told me I was lying. I told her I wasn’t lying. And she says, ‘You didn’t tell me the truth, so you are lying. Don’t you try to play me again.’ That’s how I feel about Flock. They knew what our concerns were, they knew they already had Homeland Security on board, and they didn’t say anything.”
And he didn’t mince words about how that feels now:
“I don’t trust them. I don’t think they’re a good business partner, because they didn’t just mislead us — they’ve misled a lot of people...So I feel like I’ve been played. And it doesn’t feel good. Personally, I don’t want to do business with them.”
This is leadership. It takes courage to look at new facts, admit what wasn’t clear before, and change your position. None of the Council, or the community, knew before June 5 that Flock had already signed contracts with Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. That information only came out afterward, through transparency portals and investigative reporting.
And while Paige didn’t mention all these facts, there has been a lot of new information since the June 5 vote:
Direct access: Flock has admitted federal immigration agents have direct access to tracking data, despite earlier claims to the contrary. Some customers say this access was given without their knowledge or permission. 9News report.
Legal concerns: Public records revealed serious warnings from our city attorney about the contract that were never shared with Council. MLT Musings report.
Audit findings: Transparency audits from other Washington cities showed Flock sharing data with agencies like Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol. MLT Musings.
National pushback: Communities across the country have been cancelling their Flock contracts. Both the Illinois Secretary of State and members of Congress have launched investigations.
Abortion-related tracking: In one case, a woman seeking abortion care was tracked using Flock data. Houston Chronicle explainer.
Culture of backdoor access: Informal password sharing between local agency Flock customers and immigration enforcement. Unraveled Press coverage.
Any one of these should give a city pause. Taken together, they show just how risky and untrustworthy this system — and this company — is.
So, I want to commend Councilmember Paige for speaking up. By doing so, he has opened the door for others on the Council who voted yes to also take another look. Councilmembers Bryan Wahl, Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, Laura Sonmore, and Rick Ryan now have a choice to make. There is no shame in acknowledging new facts, especially when those facts confirm what residents have been saying all along.
Treating the initial payment to Flock as a sunk cost and cancelling the contract would not only be the right decision — it would also help rebuild trust between the Council and the community.
Until next time,
Dustin
Click through to the web version for Council member Paige’s full statement, slightly edited for clarity.
Councilmember William Paige full statement, September 4, 2025
“I’ve been wrestling all week with this, and it comes down to transparency.
The question I want to ask is: did the city know, when we voted for the Flock contract on June 5, that Flock already had a contract with Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection? I don’t know the answer, but I hope it’s no. I suspect it’s no.
The reason I ask is because we all heard concerns that day — and before and after that day — from the community about making sure Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection would not have access to our data. We had a Flock representative right here listening to those concerns. And yet, at that same time, in May before our vote, Flock already had a contract that allowed those federal agencies to access data. They never shared that with us.
They promised us they wouldn’t give our data to those agencies without our permission. But now we know they already had the platform in place for those agencies to get it themselves. That feels misleading.
It reminded me of something my grandmother once told me. When I was young, I got in trouble for something, and when she asked me about it, I gave the answer I thought she wanted. She told me I was lying. I said, ‘I’m not lying.’ She said, ‘You didn’t tell me the truth, so you are lying. Don’t you try to play me again.’ That’s how I feel about Flock. They knew what our concerns were, they knew they already had Homeland Security on board, and they didn’t say anything.
I’ve been talking with my brother, who’s a retired cop. He said he would never let another officer sit in the passenger seat of his patrol car if he didn’t trust them. That’s how I feel about Flock as a company. I don’t trust them. I don’t think they’re a good business partner, because they didn’t just mislead us — they’ve misled a lot of people.
I still believe the technology could help our police department be safer, more efficient, more productive, and even save lives. But a lot of technologies that were meant for good have ended up being used for harm once the wrong entities got involved. I don’t know what Flock’s agenda is. But I do know their agenda was not to tell us the whole story. And I have a problem with that.
So I feel like I’ve been played. And it doesn’t feel good. Personally, I don’t want to do business with them.”