The City of Fort Wayne’s contract with Flock has been terminated. And the cameras are offline.
Soon the 36 contentious license plate readers will be removed.
Fort Wayne Police Chief P.J. Smith said that he briefly considered operating the surveillance cameras using a smaller contract after the city council voted on Aug. 25 to cancel the $120,000 contract with Flock.
The initial acquisition of the cameras was funding by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Smith said there was concern whether cancelling the contract would put access to future federal grants in jeopardy.
On Thursday afternoon, police officials announced this as a possibility, citing the value they say the cameras offer to law enforcement in solving crimes.
But a few hours later, Mayor Sharon Tucker said the council vote was the final say in the matter and said the city would discontinue the cameras' use.
And then early Monday afternoon, Smith sent a press release announcing the pending removal of the cameras.
He again cited the value of the cameras to law enforcement.
"I continue to believe Flock has value as an investigative tool. Our officers and detectives have used this technology to develop investigative leads, locate vehicles associated with criminal activity, recover stolen vehicles, locate missing people, and assist in serious criminal investigations," Smith said.
But he said the trust of the community is important, and also a necessary ingredient in crime-solving.
While we may not always agree on the value of a particular law-enforcement tool, the relationship between this department, our elected leaders, and the people of Fort Wayne is far more important than any single piece of technology," Smith said. "For that reason, the decision was made to discontinue the Fort Wayne Police Department’s use of Flock."
Fort Wayne police officials reached out to Flock Monday afternoon to see if images collected from recent days could be accessed by other agencies. The information was unavailable.
