Concerns from a Sterling resident about Flock Safety cameras, what those cameras are recording and who has access to that footage, continue.

Jeff Gale, a Sterling resident, appeared at the May 18 Sterling City Council meeting to voice his continuing concerns about Flock Safety cameras in the city and, in particular, the newest camera and what it will be recording.

“Are we, the citizens, expected to sit and wait until our data is exposed for real change to happen?” Gale said.

Gale first spoke at a February council meeting to bring up his concerns with the Flock Safety cameras positioned around Sterling.

At that meeting, Gale said he attempted to get access to his own information recorded by Flock Safety cameras in Sterling via a Freedom of Information Act request. Gale said he was told that he could only obtain his own information if he was the victim of a crime.

At the May 18 meeting, Gale, who said he was part of the committee who helped choose the park equipment for the new Northwestern Steel and Wire Park on Sterling’s riverfront, said he visited the park recently.

“I am one of the people most excited for the opening of this park. But this morning, when I was down there, I was horrified to see a Flock camera that is located near the new park and not just a Flock camera but their newest, most powerful Condor camera. These cameras use AI features to automatically zoom and can capture audio,” Gale said.

Gale said the camera does not appear to be pointed at the street leading to the park.

“I walked over to the camera and held up my phone to take a picture to see what it saw and I was horrified to see that it points directly at the splash pad. Not only that but my 2-year-old IPhone was able to zoom in quite clearly to see what will soon be our children playing in their swimsuits,” Gale said.

Gale said the placement of the camera has dampened his perspective of the park project.

“As a parent, I never would have participated in the planning of a park if I knew it was going to be used to video our children and share with over 1,500 entities,” he said.

Gale also challenged the process by which the city approved the contract with Flock Safety.

“I remain perplexed as to how these AI cameras were approved and installed while the City Council remained uninformed, bypassing public awareness and legislative review,” Gale said.

The city entered into a 2-year contract with Flock Safety after approving the city’s fiscal 26 budget at its April 25, 2025, City Council meeting.

The $36,000 per year cost was included in the Sterling Police Department’s departmental budget as part of the larger Sterling city budget for 2025-26. The police department applied for and received a $12,000 grant from the state to help offset the first year’s cost.

“i do not oppose license plate readers or speed enforcement via the ALPR (Automated License Plate Readers) in principle. However, I openly and enthusiastically oppose Flock Safety, the manner in which it was introduced into Sterling streets, its violation of citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights and its unethical, constantly-shifting policies. We have no control over the data,” Gale said.

He urged the council to take further action to address the issue of the cameras. There was no comment from city officials after Gale spoke.

Included in the bills payable for the May 18 meeting was a $36,000 payment to Flock Safety for the city’s annual subscription fee for the 18-camera system.

Retha Elston, 1st Ward alderwoman, asked if the council should discuss the payment. Tim Zollinger, city attorney, said the payment was not to renew the contract but for the current contract.