DeflockBCS
On Thursday, September 24, the College Station City Council voted 4–2 to renew the city's contracts with Flock Safety. The city's license plate reader network stays on for another year.
This follows our preview of agenda item 9.6.
More than 25 residents signed up to speak, according to KBTX. Many of them asked the council to slow down, look at the evidence, and let the contract lapse. Many cited concerns of mass surveilance, of already documented abuses, security concerns, extensive data-sharing with other agencies.
The majority voted to renew anyway.
We are disappointed. The vote itself is only part of the reason. Before the vote, council heard claims from the Chief of Police about what this system can do. Those claims do not hold up against the city's own records.
How they voted
| Seat | Member | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Mayor | John Nichols | Absent (illness) |
| Place 1 | Mark Smith | No |
| Place 2 | William Wright (Mayor Pro Tem, presiding) | Yes |
| Place 3 | David White | Yes |
| Place 4 | Melissa McIlhaney | Yes |
| Place 5 | Bob Yancy | No |
| Place 6 | Scott Shafer | Yes |
Thank you to Councilmember Smith and Councilmember Yancy for voting no.
Claim 1: "CSPD does not have access to FreeForm people searches"
Chief Couch told council that the College Station Police Department does not have access to Flock FreeForm searches using the people object class. FreeForm is Flock's AI search tool. It lets an officer type a plain-language description and get back matching footage.
The Flock network audit log shows those searches being run. Here are four entries from the evening of July 16:
| Local time (CDT) | UTC | Search type | Object class | Search terms | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:25:15 PM | 17 Jul 00:25:15 | freeform | people | motorcycle black backpack, blue pants | allow |
| 7:25:19 PM | 17 Jul 00:25:19 | freeform | people | motorcycle black backpack, blue pants | allow |
| 7:25:26 PM | 17 Jul 00:25:26 | freeform | people | motorcycle black backpack | allow |
| 7:25:40 PM | 17 Jul 00:25:40 | freeform | people | black helmet, black backpack, blue pants | allow |
Search IDs for these entries: 79eb2e04-f052-403d-acec-f301d18898bd, 37f92d11-0205-4e43-8a49-54edf789995d, a5d444ce-e90d-4ff8-bdc1-51ee4449ff52, 04006119-da1a-46d1-af35-11bd71d98d90.
Every one of them is a FreeForm search. Every one targets people, and every one was allowed. These searches describe what a person is wearing and carrying. They do not describe a license plate.
The city pays for it
FreeForm is not a feature the city received by accident. College Station pays for it by name. Here is Flock invoice INV-80705, dated December 4, 2025 and billed to College Station PD:
| Line item | Qty | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Flock Safety Platform — FreeForm Add-On | 1 | $38,313.60 |
| Flock FreeForm™ — Included Integrated Video Streams | 10 | $0.00 (bundled) |
| Enhanced LPR Upgrade | 1 | $14,355.00 |
| Solar LPR (fka Solar Falcon) | 6 | $13,780.80 |
| Professional Services — Solar Bundle Implementation Fee | 3 | $2,583.90 |
The same add-on, with its 10 integrated video streams, appears again in the renewal quote in the September 24 agenda packet.
Claim 2: "Other cities cannot run FreeForm on our data"
Chief Couch also told council that other agencies cannot use FreeForm to search College Station's data.
Flock's own product page says otherwise. From the FAQ on flocksafety.com/products/flock-freeform:
Can I use FreeForm search outside my organization or jurisdiction? Only when authorized. Organizations and agencies can request permission-based access to shared video footage and license plate reader data from participating partners where sharing is enabled and consistent with applicable policies.
In other words, FreeForm works across jurisdictions wherever sharing is turned on. College Station shares its data with 488 organizations.
What comes next
The renewal runs through September 24, 2027. That leaves a year to make sure next September goes differently.
- Thank the no votes. Councilmembers Smith and Yancy listened. Tell them it mattered.
Email the entire College Station City Council →
Individual council member addresses are on our Take Action page.
Everyone who signed up, spoke, wrote in, or sat in the chamber on Thursday: thank you. The vote did not go our way. The record is still on our side.
New to this issue? Start with The Facts for what these cameras collect, who can see it, and how long it is kept.
