{"id":941,"date":"2026-05-28T19:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=941"},"modified":"2026-05-28T19:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:35:40","slug":"boulder-police-use-flock-cameras-as-dragnet-to-illegally-surveil-people-lawsuit-alleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=941","title":{"rendered":"Boulder police use Flock cameras as \u2018dragnet\u2019 to illegally surveil people, lawsuit alleges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Boulder Police Department uses its fleet of Flock cameras to illegally surveil people without any probable cause, a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday morning alleges.<\/p>\n

Boulder has deployed and uses 31 Flock cameras to scan people\u2019s cars while they are doing everyday tasks such as taking their children to school, according to the lawsuit filed by William Freeman and Gwen Steel, both of whom regularly work in, frequent or drive through Boulder.\u00a0The department\u2019s camera usage constitutes a warrantless system of mass surveillance, violating the Colorado Constitution\u2019s provision against warrantless searches and seizures, the suit alleges.<\/p>\n

In the suit, filed in Boulder County District Court, the complainants allege Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn has deployed the Flock cameras without any safeguards protecting people\u2019s privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo court has found probable cause to believe that criminal activity is afoot on Boulder\u2019s public roads twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,\u201d the suit states. \u201cDefendant Redfearn\u2019s deployment of the Flock technology constitutes a dragnet search of the movements of every person who drives in Boulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suit also named Dawn VanAckeren, a records specialist with Boulder police, because she denied Freeman\u2019s records request asking for all Flock records of his own vehicle, the suit alleges. That denial violated the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, the suit states.<\/p>\n

Boulder police have used their Flock license plate-reading cameras continuously since Jan. 6, 2022, according to the suit. There are at least nine other Flock cameras in Boulder, run either by the University of Colorado Boulder Police Department or private businesses, but Boulder police still use them to surveil anyone driving in Boulder, the suit alleges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith thirty-one cameras strategically positioned throughout the city, BPD has constructed a surveillance dragnet that makes it difficult for any resident or visitor to travel within Boulder without being tracked,\u201d the suit states.<\/p>\n

The suit notes that until June 2025, Boulder allowed law enforcement agencies outside of Colorado to see its Flock data, including some agencies known to collaborate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, the suit states.<\/p>\n

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Anyone who drives in, rides in or travels on public roads in Boulder but was tracked by Flock cameras without a warrant is entitled to relief, the proposed class-action suit states. The suit says that the number of people who could seek relief is in the tens of thousands.<\/p>\n

Freeman and Steel, represented by Andy McNulty of the Newman-McNulty law firm, are asking for undetermined monetary damages as relief from what they call a series of unreasonable searches and seizures, the lawsuit states. The pair also ask that Colorado courts order Boulder to stop using Flock cameras without a warrant, according to the suit.<\/p>\n

Boulder and its police department are evaluating the claims made in the lawsuit, according to city spokesperson Sarah Huntley. Future arguments and perspectives about the case will be made through court filings, Huntley added in her statement.<\/p>\n

The city of Boulder has had a request for proposals out for license plate-reading technology since March, according to a city news release. The proposal period came after some City Council members expressed concerns about the city\u2019s relationship with Flock ahead of a then-expected contract renewal with the company.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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Redfearn, Boulder\u2019s police chief, said in a town hall in January that Flock camera data is not shared with ICE, and that it has helped police find suspects and, in some cases, victims of kidnappings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk of misuse is far outweighed by the public safety benefits it provides for us,\u201d Redfearn said at the town hall meeting.<\/p>\n

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This is a developing story.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Read more Denver Zoo\u2019s \u2018beloved\u2019 black rhino euthanized after chronic health issues<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Boulder Police Department uses its fleet of Flock cameras to illegally surveil people without any probable cause, a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday morning alleges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBoulder police use Flock cameras as \u2018dragnet\u2019 to illegally surveil people, lawsuit alleges - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=941\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boulder police use Flock cameras as \u2018dragnet\u2019 to illegally surveil people, lawsuit alleges - 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