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October 15, 2026 · Harris County, TX · State action

Harris County commissioners vote to form a Flock oversight workgroup; Precinct 4 withdraws from the county master agreement

On Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, Harris County Commissioners Court voted to create a workgroup to review the county's use of automated license plate readers after hours of discussion of an Office of County Administration report on Flock Safety cameras, KHOU 11 and KPRC 2 reported. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez will chair the group, which is to include the County Attorney's Office, constables, the county auditor, the purchasing agent and Commissioners Court offices. It is tasked with proposing amendments to the county's Flock agreement and a model policy on how agencies use and share plate-reader data, with recommendations due by February 2027. Most cameras remain on in the meantime. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, who had already decommissioned her office's 61 cameras the prior week, formally withdrew Precinct 4 from the county's master Flock agreement and said she is working with law enforcement on a comprehensive policy. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said his office has never operated Flock cameras and called for enforceable limits and oversight. Commissioner Tom Ramsey said one of his employees had accessed camera data for an investigation but that he has since stopped the practice, and he urged the state to set clearer rules. Public comment included calls to cancel the county contract; speakers raised privacy and immigration-related data-sharing concerns. The OCA report the court heard had verified 154 county-funded Flock systems and cited estimates of up to about 5,300 Flock devices countywide. We have not seen a separate written Commissioners Court order beyond the reporting cited here.

Local file: houston, TX

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