Boulder police use Flock cameras as ‘dragnet’ illegally surveilling people, lawsuit alleges
A class-action lawsuit alleges Boulder police illegally use Flock cameras for warrantless mass surveillance.Summary
A class-action lawsuit filed in Boulder County District Court alleges that the Boulder Police Department is illegally using its fleet of 31 Flock cameras to conduct warrantless mass surveillance. The suit claims this system, which scans license plates of vehicles traveling through the city, violates the Colorado Constitution's protection against warrantless searches. Filed by William Freeman and Gwen Steel, the lawsuit argues that Chief Stephen Redfearn deployed the technology without probable cause or privacy safeguards, creating a surveillance dragnet that tracks everyone driving in Boulder. The plaintiffs also allege that a police records specialist denied Freeman's request for his own Flock records, violating state law. The suit seeks to stop the warrantless use of the cameras and damages for thousands of affected individuals. Boulder police and the city have stated they are evaluating the claims, while Flock representatives defended the technology as constitutional and emphasized that customer agencies control their own data.
(Source：The Denver Post)