Knox County Commission will no longer meet to discuss sheriff’s office’s rollout of almost 300 Flock cameras

What This Story Is About

• The Knox County Commission will no longer meet to discuss the Knox County Sheriff’s Office proposed rollout of more than 200 Flock cameras.

Why It Matters

• Flock cameras, which surveil and read license plates in public spaces, have sparked concerns about privacy from both private citizens and elected officials.

What Happens Next

• The sheriff’s office hasn’t confirmed if the planned camera rollout has changed at all, but the meeting was cancelled at the request of KCSO.

For Context

• Wednesday, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs released a video statement highlighting concerns about Flock Cameras.

Catch Up

• A Knox County commissioner said he was a bit blindsided by the planned rollout. He spoke to us Tuesday.
• Officers outside of Knox County have been accused in the past of misusing Flock cameras, outlined in an investigation by our sister station in Atlanta.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Knox County Commission has cancelled a meeting set for Monday aimed at discussing the possible rollout of almost 300 Flock cameras across the county, planned to be purchased using $1.5 million in grant funding. It comes as the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, which has pushed for the cameras’ installation, is facing pushback both from the public and elected officials, like Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

A spokesperson for Jacobs’ office said the meeting was cancelled at the request of the sheriff’s office, but KCSO hasn’t confirmed if the canceled meeting means changes for the planned camera rollout.

We reached out for clarification Friday morning, and a county representative shared the short letter from KCSO canceling the meeting.

“Unfortunately, we have multiple people that cannot be present Monday for the workshop at 3:30, and we need more time to put together everything,” the letter reads.

A commissioner, Adam Thompson, spoke with us earlier in the week, saying he was unaware of any specifics about the rollout.

“You read the resolution, and it mentioned nothing about cameras. It mentioned nothing about surveillance. It mentioned nothing about this,” he said. “And we didn’t hear anything about it from November until June when I made a call to our procurement office who made a phone call to you all. And then we get a lengthy email.”

Jacobs himself released a video statement Wednesday, saying he was worried about Knox Countian’s privacy.

“I have serious concerns about the rollout of Flock cameras in Knox County. I believe they are a threat to our privacy and civil liberties. Commission is holding a special session prior to their regular meeting Monday to discuss this issue, and I will have more to say as well,” Jacobs said.

That meeting he mentioned is the same one that was canceled Friday. It had been scheduled for July 27 at 3:30 p.m.

Jacobs isn’t the only one with privacy concerns about Flock cameras. Patrick Tresnan lives near a camera and said the device was installed about 18 months ago. He spoke to us Tuesday.

“Very much the big brother feeling. That they’re tracking anything and everything we do nowadays,” Tresnan said.

Flock cameras are on the rise in the U.S. The cameras are installed in public spaces and often have the ability to read license plate numbers and store images, though the sheriff’s office said Thursday any information gathered is only stored for 30 days.