Flock CEO says no police customers dropped over abuse, defends surveillance at Disrupt

Centre · 1Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco on Wednesday 14 October that the company has not ended any contract with a police department or other law enforcement agency over abuse of its products. 1 2 Centre · 1Langley told TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos that Flock would end a relationship where there was clear widespread abuse, saying: "If a customer knowingly broke the law, we would fire them immediately." He added that it is "not off the table" but that the company has not done so to date. 1 Centre · 1TechCrunch said the remarks follow reporting on dozens of police officers arrested, fired or told to resign for abusing access to Flock's national database of license plate detections, often to stalk people. Langley said the debate happened internally and that Flock should not take its product from a community that may need it to fight crime. 1

Mixed · 2More broadly, Langley defended the technology, saying: "If we want to live in a society where, if you commit a crime, you have a higher probability of being held accountable, we shouldn't pause progress." He compared Flock to driverless cars, arguing that one accident should lead to discussion of prevention, not shutdown. 2 3 Mixed · 2He said Flock does not want to "tell city leaders how to do their job" and will offer recommendations and defaults while minimising mandated features and policies. On curbing abuse, he said there is a way that does not disrupt the legal system or police efficacy, though TechCrunch noted he did not spell out what that would involve. 3 2 Mixed · 2Langley also cited declining law enforcement staffing, particularly since the pandemic, as a reason for Flock's value, and said criticism was "the price you pay" for building a consequential company. He acknowledged Flock "is far from perfect" and has made mistakes. 2 3

Centre · 1Langley said some customers cancelled because of misinformation, such as a belief the cameras use facial recognition. TechCrunch noted Flock cameras do not do facial recognition but can detect and track people. 2 Centre · 1TechCrunch described Flock as a flashpoint: it has more than 100,000 cameras in the US, some towns have cancelled contracts, some communities have switched to rivals such as Axon, and there are reports of camera inaccuracies leading to wrongful stops and arrests. Langley said the company has "no desire to sell" and is not considering a sale to Axon. 1 Centre · 1Protesters outside the venue opposed Flock's AI-powered surveillance. Organiser Ashley Ortiz of The Wolves said opposition to mass surveillance crosses party lines. TechCrunch also noted Flock has no direct ICE contract, though ICE has reportedly accessed Flock data through local police. 1