CUDAHY — Eagle Sports Range in Cudahy says it has removed all of its Flock Safety cameras, citing privacy concerns.
General manager Saad Jaber told TMJ4 three Flock cameras were installed when the range opened around December 2023.
In a statement released Friday, the business said it installed the automated license plate reader cameras after other gun ranges in the Milwaukee area were broken into.
It said the cameras were intended "to deter criminal activity and protect our customers and property."
"For us, we heard about Flock and understood it was to protect business," Jaber said.
Flock Safety cameras detect the license plate number, make, model and color of all vehicles that pass by.
Jaber said the cameras were used once in the past two years to help police investigate the theft of a firearm from a vehicle in the range's parking lot.
However, he said the range's concerns began months ago.
"We noticed the concerns before it ever got as big as it is now," Jaber said. "We wanted to be ahead of it so we reached out."
According to the business's statement, Eagle Sports Range contacted Flock in February to request removal of the cameras but was told it was contractually obligated to keep them in place.
Jaber said the business decided to remove the cameras anyway after a viral video circulated showing the cameras on the property.
"After the video circulated, we made a clear decision: we care more about the privacy of our customers than we do about a contract," the statement reads.
Jaber said the decision was not prompted by any misuse of the cameras at Eagle Sports Range. Instead, he said the business grew concerned about broader privacy issues.
"We have the same concerns as everyone else. When I leave Eagle, I'm still in the community having the same concerns and wanting the same privacy everyone else does," Jaber said. "Our concern is anyone having that information. I don't think anyone should have that information."
Customer Damarion Hill-Stanton said he understands why the range originally installed the cameras.
"The idea itself isn't bad, but it's a lot of power, and people don't know how to control power, and there have been a lot of reports of that," Hill-Stanton said.
Jaber said the range will continue relying on other security measures, including surveillance cameras, reinforced gates, and shutters.
TMJ4 asked the Cudahy Police Department whether it had access to the range's Flock cameras and whether they had assisted in any investigations. The department had not responded by publication.
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