RACINE, Wis. — The Racine Common Council voted 8 to 6 to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety, but the cameras will remain active for 30 more days to give the police department a grace period.
The vote came after nearly two hours of debate over how to balance public safety with data privacy concerns raised by residents.
Alder Jens Jorgensen supported ending the contract.
"I truly believe the will of the people should be the law of the land," Jorgensen said.
Alder Maurice Horton questioned whether council members fully understood the technology before voting to remove it.
"I really like to know how many alders went and seen how Flock really works. I don't work for law enforcement but we are taking away a tool," Horton said.
Flock cameras photograph license plates and are only supposed to be used for criminal investigations.
Racine Police Chief Alexander Ramirez said the department has used Flock cameras since 2022 and called the technology a valuable tool for solving crimes including shootings, homicides, missing persons cases and stolen vehicle investigations.
"When we got it that's what we were going to use it for, to help solve crime to help reduce crime. We have reduced shootings and shots fired by 57% since 2022," Ramirez said.
Ramirez also addressed two officers who came under investigation for allegedly misusing Flock cameras. One of those officers has since returned to work, while the other remains under investigation.
Deputy Chief Jessie Metoyer warned about the impact of an immediate termination with no replacement technology in place.
"Covering up the cameras and not allowing any data to come in would absolutely interfere with some of our investigations," Metoyer said.
Privacy concerns from residents were central to the debate. Racine resident Madeline Thompson raised the issue of officer misconduct during public comment.
"We already have two officers that we are aware of that have been investigated for misusing access to the Flock data," Thompson said.
Resident Steve Pliszka said he has concerns about Flock as a company but acknowledged the importance of public safety.
"I think it's a partial invasion of privacy. I'm very worried about where that data would go," Pliszka said.
After learning of the department's concerns, Pliszka said he would accept keeping the cameras in place temporarily.
"I rather have public safety over privacy in the interim, but understanding what that company can do to safeguard that data, I'm okay with them leaving it in place a little bit longer," Pliszka said.
The Flock cameras will remain active for the next 30 days before the contract is terminated.
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