· Renton, WA · Paused
Renton, Washington's paused Flock cameras may come down for good as its contract nears its Nov. 2 expiration
Renton's roughly two dozen Flock license plate reader cameras have been off since a May 12 City Council vote to pause them and are now covered in black plastic, KUOW reported on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. The city's two-year, nearly $170,000 Flock contract expires Nov. 2. According to KUOW, an Aug. 10 council vote to turn the cameras back on failed 4-2, and unless the council renegotiates a contract that complies with Washington's new Driver Privacy Act (SB 6002), the contract would lapse and the cameras would be dismantled. Police Chief Jon Schuldt told KUOW the department supports the technology but is awaiting a council decision, and that any new contract would need to be renegotiated to reflect the state law. Public safety committee chair James Alberson, who supports Flock, said he is not optimistic the cameras will be turned back on under the current council. KUOW also reported that Renton was among Washington departments whose Flock networks had been open to Border Patrol and Homeland Security searches, as detailed in an October 2025 University of Washington Center for Human Rights report.
Source
We summarize what the cited reporting says and link it so you can check us. Read our editorial standards; spot an error? See the corrections log.
What you can do
Find out what your own town's cameras collect and who can search them.
Request my town's records →Local file: renton, WA
For Flock's Sake is independent and ad-free. If it helped, chip in to keep it running.
More news
- Fullerton, California powers down its 19 Flock cameras for six months while it reviews police use of the system (October 16, 2026)
- Pinellas County, Florida commissioners to vote Oct. 27 on cutting county ties to Flock and other plate readers (October 16, 2026)
- Loudoun County, Virginia supervisors to consider a study of how many Flock cameras are in use and how the data is shared (October 16, 2026)