El Cerrito, CA
After more than an hour of largely opposed public comment, the El Cerrito City Council voted 3-2 in the early hours of Wednesday 2026-05-06 not to renew its Flock Safety contract, ending the program after nearly three years. Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman, Lisa Motoyama and William Ktsanes voted to end the agreement; Mayor Gabriel Quinto and Carolyn Wysinger voted to renew, citing crime concerns. The vote followed disclosure that federal agencies had accessed data from the city's 40 cameras without police knowledge.
What moved this decision
- Unauthorized federal agency access to the city’s camera data without police knowledge
- Inability to control downstream use of city data
- Dissatisfaction with the vendor’s contract negotiations
- Sustained public comment in opposition
What happened afterwards
All 40 cameras went dark on 2026-06-07 and physical removal began in late July 2026, running into mid-August. El Cerrito was the first Contra Costa County jurisdiction to drop Flock. Its decision stands in direct contrast to neighboring Richmond, which in March 2026 voted to reactivate its own Flock system - two adjacent cities reaching opposite conclusions on the same vendor within eight weeks.
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.
- Contract value not established