It started with a letter that flew under the radar: A small bedroom community taking on a $7.5B national company with strong ties to law enforcement, and thanks to determined residents, bagging the spy camera and chasing it out of town. A true David and Goliath story.
In September 2025, Andrew Daly emailed all four South Lake mayors warning that Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers had quietly built a vehicle-tracking network across Shorewood, Excelsior, Greenwood, and Tonka Bay. The mayors didn’t respond to Andrew. But a council member did. Meanwhile residents had no idea the cameras existed. SCA got wind of the letter and published its first report. The slow, messy, sometimes infuriating process of public accountability began.
Oct. 2023: A Quiet Beginning
Flock automated license plate readers (ALPR) first appeared in a short, low-key presentation at a Shorewood council meeting. It was presented as a grant-funded tool aimed at recovering stolen vehicles. The cost to Shorewood was roughly $800 (we later learned renewal is $6k). There was no privacy policy, or public opinion discussion.
Nov. 10, 2025: First Public Reckoning
After Daly’s letter motivated a council request for discussion, Shorewood held its first real public work session on Flock. Trevor Chandler, Flock marketing representative, joined via Zoom. What followed was not reassuring. Chandler confirmed that local agencies including Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Plymouth already had access to Shorewood’s data. When Council Member Michelle DiGruttolo pressed for specifics on cybersecurity breach notifications, Chandler said he’d “have to check.” The council also learned that SLMPD had not completed its first state-required audit, although contract renewal was approaching. DiGruttolo formally requested a public follow-up before the February contract renewal deadline.
Dec. 17, 2025 — Dismissal from City Hall
A week later, at the December 17 South Lake Police Coordinating Committee meeting, Shorewood Mayor Jennifer Labadie characterized concerned residents as a few “loud voices” in a city of 8,000 who had found “willing ears” on the council. Police Chief Justin Ballsrud suggested opposition to Flock fit a “defund the police” narrative and that initial concerns had come from YouTube videos.
Mar. 9, 2026 — The Second Zoom Call and a Vote
The full council convened a second session with Sgt. O’Neill of the SLMPD and a Zoom call from the Flock representative. DiGruttolo again challenged the rep on data security and the cameras’ unproven safety record. Since the last council discussion, ICE had come to town and its possible connection with Flock changed everything.
Council Member Nat Gorham called the community’s concerns anything but radical and argued that camera placement is a privilege granted to Flock and not a right. Council Member Guy Sanschagrin noted he had only heard from residents who opposed the cameras. Daly, initially blocked by the mayor from speaking outside the designated comment period, persisted and was ultimately granted five minutes. In a head-spinning change of attitude, the council voted unanimously to disable the camera at Smithtown Road and Highway 19, pending audit results and a public forum.
Mar. 29, 2026: The Bag Goes On
The image says it all: the Flock camera at Highway 19, covered with a bag and secured with duct tape. Shorewood had joined a growing national list of communities including Mountain View, CA, Brooklyn Center, MN; Redmond, WA, Coralville, IA and Dayton, OH that had paused or terminated their Flock contracts amid mounting scrutiny. Shorewood residents and SCA did not let up.
Jun. 9, 2026 — The Audit Lands Flat, Council Moves Toward an Exit
Chief Ballsrud and Lt. O’Keefe presented Shorewood’s first-ever Flock audit, reporting the department was in compliance with Minnesota statute. The council was not impressed with the audit results. Members noted that the audit lacked important details such as, who made the license plate queries, and why. This is a critical piece where other agencies have been caught failing.
Mr. Daly told the council that Flock’s Feb. 2026 Terms of Service update granted the company a perpetual, irrevocable license to use customer data for another platform. This is a dramatic change and is potentially conflicting with Minnesota’s 60-day ALPR data destruction requirement.
Finally, the council unanimously directed Mayor Labadie to explore options for Shorewood to pull out of the contract entirely. She agreed. Until then, the camera stays in the bag.
What started as one unanswered letter became public scrutiny, two intense Zoom calls with a Flock sales rep, a police chief who seemed to dismiss residents as misinformed, and a mayor who aligned with the chief over her own council. Through resident persistence and ultimately a unanimous vote to disable the camera, the council issued a directive to exit the contract. A 100% pivot.
This is a perfect example of success that can be achieved when residents get involved. It started with one voice and grew to many who called, wrote council members and spoke up at meetings. SCA amplified their message. A small town beat out the corporation.
Loud voices, it turns out, can lead to big changes.
Sources:
Shorewood Citizen Advocates coverage, November 2025 – June 2026.
South Lake Police Coordinating Committee video, December 17, 2025. SCA YouTube
Speaking up Works!, SCA, May 2026
Redmond, WA follows a similar path
Additional Flock News
