Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner confirmed Tuesday that a Flock camera was turned on after the city ordered the AI-powered license plate readers to be shut down in October.
As first reported by KLCC, Flock’s data showed as recently as Monday that its Eugene police cameras had been active in the past month.
At a press conference Tuesday, Skinner said he now believes one Flock camera was rebooted after an error message.
He said there's no indication the resulting data was used by law enforcement, and he believes the camera was already back offline by the time EPD discovered the problem.
He said his department learned of the issue last week after a tip from a community member, and that motivated his department's decision to cancel its contract with Flock last Friday.
“That vulnerability of a camera inadvertently turning on, I think, is contrary to what council has directed me to do and what some members in this community have hoped would happen," said Skinner. "Until I can say 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s not gonna ever happen again, I needed to make a tough decision."
Skinner said he was disappointed by the outcome, saying automatic license plate readers have helped fight vehicle thefts and other serious crimes.
He said once the relationship with this vendor is resolved, he may come back with another proposal.
"In this day and age, with a contemporary police department like this, not having that piece of technology just puts us behind the curve," he said.
Skinner said his department is still working with Flock on a timeline for removal, and won’t cover the camera before then due to liability concerns.
The City of Springfield, which also announced Friday that it would terminate its relationship with Flock, said the cameras would be “covered” until they are removed. Springfield had not turned its cameras on, but did say in November that one of its cameras had inadvertently been activated.
At a Eugene City Council meeting Monday, City Manager Sarah Medary said the city has asked the company to take its cameras down by this Friday.
KLCC has reached out to Flock Safety for comment.
