Tort claim, vandalized cameras and eastern Idahoans up in arms about Flock cameras

POCATELLO – Awareness has been spreading of a technology new to the eastern Idaho region that, at the time of its adoption, attracted barely any public attention at all.

In recent weeks, that has changed.

Flock cameras, which use an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system to track the license plates of passing vehicles, were implemented across a number of cities in eastern Idaho last year. While local law enforcement agencies have praised the technology for its ability to help officers solve cases, many residents see it as a violation of their rights and privacy.

One of these people is Pocatello City Council member Hayden Paulsen.

"I think it's fundamentally a privacy violation," Paulsen told EastIdahoNews.com.

Controversy surrounding Flock cameras

When the Pocatello City Council first voted on Flock cameras in May 2025, Paulsen was the only council member who voted against the motion. This was prior to the council members elected in November and Mayor Mark Dahlquist taking office.

Pocatello Police Lt. Akilah Lacey said that there are 36 ALPR cameras within Pocatello city limits. According to a map provided by DeFlock — a group opposed to the use of these cameras — the larger Pocatello metro area has 46 ALPR cameras.

Since the City Council first went forward with the camera system, Paulsen has seen more and more people take notice.

"Just in conversation — I'll be at a coffee shop, and someone will be like, 'Oh my gosh, what's up with the Flock cameras?' … It's a couple times a week, I would say, whether it's a call, an email or in person," Paulsen said.

Paulsen offered some explanation for why there's been increased attention.

"Part of it comes from this massive push for everybody to adopt AI," he said, pointing out how Flock utilizes artificial intelligence in its ALPR system.

Lacey expressed understanding of privacy concerns but also argued that some of the information being shared about Flock cameras — such as claims that the system uses facial recognition technology — isn't accurate.

"First thing I think we have to just address here is to voice empathy and concern for somebody worried about their privacy being violated," Lacey said. "I think something that's very unique about the situation is that some of the information being put out by people is not accurate."

While part of the increased awareness can be attributed to Flock cameras' link to AI, there have also been organizers working to raise awareness of them.

One of these organizers is Brian McKellar, who recently ran for a seat in the Idaho Legislature.

McKellar first became aware of Idaho Falls' use of Flock cameras while attending a City Council meeting on a different issue entirely. After someone at the meeting spoke out against the city's acquisition of them, he began to research the cameras as well.

The way McKellar sees it, a combination of local organizing and statewide news coverage has brought Flock cameras to the forefront of the conversation.

"I mean, (the issue) is exploding in Idaho on the social media scene. People are pissed, and it's clear that we don't want these in our state," McKellar said.

Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson says he sees the increased opposition to Flock cameras as part of the culture of the country at large.

"People who are worried about privacy, I get it. I'm a red-blooded American like everyone else that's worried about this, and we have a distrust of government that's kind of baked into American culture," Johnson said.

The effort to 'DeFlock' Idaho

McKellar said his research led him to become a primary organizer for DeFlock Idaho in east Idaho.

On the national level, DeFlock is an open-source mapping project that allows people to view and report the location of ALPR cameras. As with cities across the country, the DeFlock website identifies ALPR cameras in both Pocatello and Idaho Falls.

EastIdahoNews.com counted the cameras documented by DeFlock in both cities and found that the larger Pocatello and Idaho Falls metro areas have 46 and 19, respectively.

Locally, Deflock Idaho is a decentralized organization of citizens who aren't happy about the cameras being installed across eastern Idaho. McKellar explained that while they had recently filed paperwork to officially become a nonprofit, local DeFlock organizations are run independently, and DeFlock Idaho doesn't coordinate with the national group.

"We're not coordinating anything with them. We just appreciate the open source projects that they've created," McKellar said. "Great place to learn about why this tool, in particular, is bad for society."

And beyond being bad for society, McKellar argues that the contract signed by Idaho Falls and Flock makes them illegal.

McKellar first learned this from Tyler Cain, who has filed tort claims against the cities of Caldwell and Wilder for their Flock contracts.

Idaho law dictates that ALPR cameras "shall not be used for any non-law enforcement purpose." Essentially, McKellar and Cain argue that cities that signed terms and conditions with Flock, allowing the company to "use customer data to support and improve Flock's products and services," were in violation of the law.

In Wilder, the City Council voted to amend its contract with Flock in response to these concerns, KTVB reported earlier this month.

After learning about this, McKellar decided to issue an ultimatum to the city of Idaho Falls in early July. After addressing the City Council, he asked them to cover up the cameras by July 29, which was Wednesday, or said he would file a tort claim against the city.

Read the rest of the story at EastIdahoNews.com.

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