🛑 Fight the Flock: Making Our Voices Heard

Indivisible CCC will be at the Cottonwood City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 15, to support the community’s effort to stop Flock mass surveillance cameras in Cottonwood.

After community members spoke out about privacy, transparency, and the use of Flock technology, the City suspended the cameras. Now, we’re continuing to make sure our community’s concerns are heard.

Stop the Flock petitions will be delivered to City Council on September 15, giving Council members an opportunity to see how many Cottonwood residents want their voices heard on this issue.

📍 Cottonwood City Council Meeting
1083 East Riverfront Road, Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00 p.m.

There will be a Call to the Public during the meeting.

Want to add your voice?

If you haven’t signed the petition yet, there’s still time.

👉 Sign the petition at FightTheFlockCottonwood.org

You can also email your comments, questions, or concerns to the Cottonwood City Clerk at TMayes@CottonwoodAZ.gov. The Clerk will forward correspondence to the City Council.

Every signature matters. Every voice matters.

We believe protecting privacy and ensuring transparency in our communities should be something we can all agree on.

Find Your People. Protect Democracy.

What Are Flock Cameras?

Flock Safety cameras are Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems that capture images of passing vehicles and read license plate information. The system can also identify vehicle characteristics such as make, model, color, and other visible features to create searchable records.

Cottonwood's system is integrated with Flock Nova, a platform that allows authorized law enforcement users to search publicly available information related to vehicles and conduct searches across a nationwide network of participating agencies. According to publicly available information, thousands of law enforcement agencies participate in this network and may share data, depending on agency settings and agreements.

In Cottonwood, Flock cameras and related technology operate continuously, collecting vehicle data as cars travel through the community. This has raised important questions about privacy, oversight, data sharing, and public transparency.

Why We're Speaking Up

Fight the Flock Cottonwood is a community-led effort made up of neighbors from different backgrounds who believe decisions involving surveillance technology should be transparent, accountable, and include meaningful public participation.

Our concerns are not about supporting or opposing law enforcement. We appreciate the work our local police officers do every day to keep our community safe. Our concern is whether surveillance programs that affect every resident receive the public discussion, oversight, and safeguards they deserve.

Public records obtained by community members indicate that:

Flock cameras were first introduced in Cottonwood in 2021.
In 2025, the City approved a significant expansion of the Flock program, including additional cameras and a drone, through the consent agenda.
Cottonwood Police conducted more than 1,200 Flock database searches during 2025, with usage increasing in 2026.
Records produced by the City stated there were no separate policies, procedures, regulations, or agreements governing Flock data sharing and retention beyond the department's existing ALPR policy.

These findings have prompted many residents to ask whether existing safeguards provide adequate transparency and accountability.

Questions We're Asking

We believe residents deserve clear answers to important questions:

What information is being collected?
How long is it stored?
Who can search or access the data?
How widely is the information shared with other agencies?
What safeguards prevent misuse?
What local oversight exists?
How are residents informed about future expansions?
How can citizens participate in decisions about surveillance technology?

Our Goal

Our goal is simple: encourage informed public discussion and ensure that decisions affecting every resident are made openly, with transparency, accountability, and community involvement.

People can support both public safety and strong privacy protections. We believe these values should work together—not compete with one another.

Unity in the Community

Neighbors don't have to agree on every issue to agree that transparency matters.

Together, we can encourage informed conversations, responsible oversight, and meaningful public participation in decisions that affect our community.

Neighbors United to Protect Our Privacy.

Fight the Flock Makes Headlines

Our community's concerns about Flock Safety cameras continue to gain attention.

NEW: Mayor clears council chambers of Flock public comment

The Verde Independent reported on the September 1 Cottonwood City Council meeting, where more than a dozen residents submitted yellow “request to speak” cards and came prepared to address Council during Call to the Public.

The article details what happened when Mayor Shaw announced that she would not entertain public comments about Flock at that time, the resulting recess, and the concerns raised by residents and Indivisible CCC about the public's opportunity to be heard.

Read Olivia Maillet's article here:
https://www.verdenews.com/news/mayor-clears-council-chambers-of-flock-public-comment/article_a511e92a-d9ed-4082-b72e-6a53d86bdef4.html

Fight the Flock Gains Momentum in Cottonwood

The Verde Independent previously featured Fight the Flock and the growing movement of residents advocating for transparency, privacy, and responsible oversight of automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology in Cottonwood.

Read the article here:
https://www.verdenews.com/news/fight-the-flock-gains-momentum-in-cottonwood/article_ae3c6f38-28b3-400d-9530-1941e3711b71.html

We're grateful to everyone who has attended meetings, asked thoughtful questions, shared information with neighbors, and helped bring this issue into the public conversation.

Our community is paying attention.

Community Voices for Transparency

One of the most inspiring parts of the Fight the Flock campaign has been seeing Cottonwood residents step forward to speak directly to their elected officials.

Seven Voices for Transparency

At an earlier Cottonwood City Council meeting, seven Cottonwood residents addressed the City Council during public comment.

Each speaker brought a unique perspective, but they all shared a common goal: encouraging transparency, accountability, and thoughtful public discussion about the use of Flock Safety's Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system in our community.

Speaking before a city council takes courage, and we're incredibly proud of each community member who took the time to prepare remarks and make their voice heard. Their participation reflects the very best of civic engagement and demonstrates the power of neighbors coming together to advocate for their community.

▶️ Watch Seven Community Members Address the Cottonwood City Council
https://livefreeaz.com

September 1, 2026 — When the Public Was Told to Go Home

Last night was very different.

Approximately 50 members of the public came to the September 1 City Council meeting specifically prepared to participate in Call to the Public. Many had already completed their yellow “request to speak” cards and were ready to address Council with questions and concerns about Flock.

The Flock issue was not on the September 1 agenda, and we understood that. The Flock presentation is scheduled for September 22.

We were there to ask our elected officials questions about that process — including why the public's request for a public discussion and vote resulted in a work session where public comment is not permitted, who would be presenting Flock's information, and whether the public would be permitted to have an independent expert present information of our own.

Instead, before Call to the Public began, Mayor Shaw announced that she would not be taking comments about Flock and the meeting was recessed.

Residents who had taken time away from work, lost wages, paid for gas, and made the effort to participate in their local government were left without the opportunity they had come prepared to exercise.

▶️ Watch the September 1, 2026 City Council Meeting
https://youtube.com/live/b7VciTY7zmo

The events of September 1 have raised serious concerns about public participation, transparency, and the right of residents to be heard by their elected officials.

We believe public safety and civil liberties can — and should — coexist. But that requires transparency, accountability, and a genuine opportunity for the public to participate in the decisions that affect our community.

We will continue showing up.
We will continue asking questions.
And we will continue to make sure the public's voice is heard.

Sign Our Petition

If you drive through Cottonwood or the Verde Valley, Flock affects you.

You do not have to live in Cottonwood to have a stake in what happens with Flock Safety's automated license plate reader (ALPR) system.

If you drive through Cottonwood or other parts of the Verde Valley, your vehicle may be captured by the Flock camera network. That means this isn't just a Cottonwood issue — it affects residents, workers, visitors, and anyone traveling through our community.

We are asking the Verde Valley community to stand together and demand transparency, accountability, and meaningful public input about how this surveillance technology is being used, who has access to the data, how long information is retained, and where that information can go.

You don't have to agree with us on everything. We simply believe the public deserves to know how this technology is being used and to have a voice in decisions that affect all of us.

If you drive through the Verde Valley, please sign our petition.

Every signature helps demonstrate that this community is paying attention and that we expect transparency when surveillance technology is used on our roads.

Sign the petition and add your voice.

Together, we can make sure this conversation happens in the open.

Sign our Petition Here

Support Fight the Flock

This work costs money — and we're doing it because we believe our community deserves answers.

We're currently working to obtain public records related to Cottonwood's Flock Safety cameras, contracts, data access, and use of the system. Those records are an important part of understanding exactly what we've purchased, how the system is being used, who has access to the information, and how long that information is being retained.

Public records requests aren't always free.

We recently paid $80 for just seven months of records, and we're seeking five years' worth of information. We have already received some generous donations to help cover those costs, but there is still a long way to go.

Your donations help us pay for:

Public records requests
Flyers and educational materials
Community training and presentations
Meeting and event expenses
Other costs associated with researching and educating our community

We're a community-led effort, and much of this work has been funded out of our own pockets. Every contribution helps us keep digging, keep informing the public, and keep making sure our community has the information it needs to make informed decisions.

Help Us Keep Going

No amount is too small. A few dollars can help pay for printing. A larger donation can help cover the cost of records that otherwise come directly out of our pockets.

Donate to Fight the Flock:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/indivisibleccc1156678179

Thank you to everyone who has already donated, shared information, attended meetings, signed petitions, asked questions, and stood with us.

Transparency costs money. Silence costs even more.