Cleveland, OH
Cleveland City Council voted 9-6 to approve an amended six-month, $125,000 extension of the city's Flock Safety contract covering 100 license plate reader cameras, running through Dec 29, 2026. Council shortened the term from one year to six months to press the mayor to find a new vendor faster, and attached substantial conditions: the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center — a local-federal partnership managed by DHS — is cut off from Cleveland's Flock data; Flock is prohibited from sharing data with governments or third parties and faces fines if found to have sold collected data; access is limited to local law enforcement with warrants required for third-party requests; data retention is capped at 30 days; and police must stand up an online transparency portal and report to council quarterly. Voting yes: Council President Blaine Griffin, Michael Polensek, Kevin Conwell, Kevin Bishop, Richard Starr, Brian Kazy, Charles Slife, Joe Jones, Deborah Gray. Voting no: Jasmin Santana, Nikki Hudson, Tanmay Shah, Kris Harsh, Stephanie Howse-Jones, Austin Davis.
What moved this decision
- federal data-sharing and fusion center access concerns
- sustained council debate after the safety committee initially rejected the extension
- desire to force the administration toward a different vendor
What happened afterwards
The council's safety committee had rejected the extension in June 2026 before the full council reversed course in July with the added restrictions. Immigration-related searches had already been blocked in November 2025. This is one of the strongest examples of a large city keeping ALPRs while materially rewriting who may touch the data.
What we still don’t know
These are the records we would need to describe this decision completely. If you can help obtain them, or already have them, get in touch.
- Whether the administration has begun a vendor search ahead of the Dec 29, 2026 expiration
- Whether the transparency portal and quarterly reports have been delivered
- Over 1,000 Flock cameras reportedly operate across Cuyahoga County; Cleveland's restrictions do not reach those
Sources
- Cleveland 19 News: Cleveland city council votes to continue Flock Safety camera contract (July 15, 2026)
- Signal Cleveland: Cleveland to keep Flock cameras, pause data center projects
- Axios Cleveland: Cleveland's final vote on Flock
- Axios Cleveland: Cleveland City Council committee declines to renew Flock contract (June 18, 2026)