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Editor:
On Nov. 10, in response to community pushback, the Lynnwood City Council voted to pause its surveillance contract with Flock for further assessment. This is a fantastic first step to restoring privacy; however, it does not go far enough. Lynnwood needs to cancel its contract and redirect these resources in the future to community policing initiatives, rather than pervasive mass surveillance.
LPD promised the Council that Flock would not be used for immigration enforcement; however, due to implementation errors, it was used for exactly that. LPD promised the Council that each search would require justification and an associated case number; however, public records requests show that many searches have fake case numbers or no case number provided.
Lynnwood taxpayers are funding a system that opens the city to massive liability. Families in other cities running Flock have been pulled over at gunpoint due to misread errors. In conditions of poor visibility, such as the rain and fog that are common in the PNW, Flock cameras have reduced accuracy, increasing the risk to taxpayers. These instances have resulted in 7-figure settlements in other cities that Lynnwood could ill afford. We don’t need a ‘better configured’ spy network; we need it gone. Please visit DeFlockLynnwood.com for more information, including contact forms to encourage the council to vote for a full cancellation.
The next Lynnwood City Council meeting is Monday, the 24th, 6 p.m. at City Hall. Please come and have your voice heard to restore privacy to our city.
Quinn Van Order
Lynnwood
Thank you to Council Member Derica Escamilla for her motion to cancel this contract at the November 10th City Council Business Metting. I will be sharing some comments on this topic with the council on Monday, November 24th.