South Windsor's Town Council voted 6-3 to terminate its contract with Flock Safety and remove the town's automated license plate readers, capping months of debate over privacy versus public safety. The cameras are set to come down within 60 days, and all data they've collected will be purged once the removal is complete.
The vote followed a public hearing where, according to CT Insider, not a single attendee spoke in favor of keeping the cameras. Residents from South Windsor and neighboring towns argued the readers invade privacy and violate the Fourth Amendment, while a town council straw poll on the matter reportedly landed at a lopsided 20-2 in favor of removal. Mayor Craig Zimmerman, who voted to remove the cameras, said he initially supported the program but grew concerned over time about privacy and who controls the data.
A Program Born Behind Closed Doors
South Windsor's relationship with license plate readers began in a closed-door executive session in 2023, before the town rolled out the cameras in 2025. The system ultimately grew to eight units — the town initially installed six readers and later added two more, according to Patch. South Windsor began using the cameras in April 2025, and the same outlet reported that the town had opted out of Flock's national network, limiting data sharing to Connecticut police departments only.
Police Chief Kristian Lindstrom said the system had assisted in more than 100 arrests, touching cases ranging from domestic violence and burglaries to stolen vehicles, firearms, narcotics, stalking and hit-and-run crashes, per the same Patch report. The department also required a case number, offense type and stated reason for every search run through the system, according to WTNH.
Council Members Split Over Trust and Risk
Not everyone on the council agreed with the outcome. One council member who sits on the South Windsor Police Department voted to keep the cameras, and councilor Audrey Delnicki said Flock systems are simply another law-enforcement tool meant to help protect citizens, according to CT Insider. Councilor Michael Ouellette said he trusted the police chief and police force to handle town data properly, and other members opposing removal argued the technology was worth keeping if it helped save even one life.
But Deputy Mayor Andrew Paterna framed his support for removal differently, saying the decision reflected concern about an increasingly invasive system rather than any distrust of the police department. Councilor Elizabeth Pendleton said she voted to remove the cameras because a private, for-profit company operates them and has access to extensive personal data, per CT Insider's reporting. The South Windsor Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the outlet.
What the Data Actually Showed
During the hearing, Lindstrom pushed back on some privacy fears directly, telling WTNH that Flock data amounts to little more than a picture of a car — no account numbers, medical information, personal or residential details, dates of birth or names are included. He said the system can show a vehicle's location, date and time, but cannot identify who is inside a car, how many people are traveling, or where they're headed. A Flock Safety representative told the council the company does not sell the data it collects, and the company has said its default image-retention period is being cut from 30 days to seven.
Flock spokeswoman Courtney Terlecki said the company supports regulation of automated license plate readers and uses strict data controls, according to CT Insider, pointing to agency-owned data, limits on authorized-user access and permanent audit trails for every search. Despite those assurances, the council's decision means Flock cameras could only return to South Windsor after another public hearing and another public vote.
Part of a Wider Connecticut Retreat
South Windsor's move adds it to a growing list of Connecticut municipalities pulling back from Flock technology. Windsor's Town Council voted July 6 to permanently shut off its 16 cameras and end its contract, following a divided 5-4 vote against bringing the system back, according to WTNH. Killingworth has also been working to end its Flock contract and remove its cameras.
East Lyme Police Chief Kevin Glenn announced in late September that his department would immediately pause its use of Flock technology, with plans to cover all three of the town's cameras the following week, as reported by CT News Junkie. That outlet also noted that South Windsor, Orange, Cheshire, Newtown, Bethel, Killingly and Manchester were all reviewing resident concerns about the cameras around the same time.
The pullback comes as Connecticut's new rules governing automated license plate readers took effect October 1, limiting how data can be shared, retained and used, according to legislative text from the Connecticut General Assembly. Statewide, agencies have reported deploying a combined 1,564 automated license plate reader cameras, with Flock Safety named the most commonly used vendor for fixed readers in a survey covered by WFSB. Even as some towns retreat, Flock has said its cameras helped lead to arrests after a deadly home invasion in Milford and alerted authorities to nine missing people statewide in July, according to CT Public.
