In many ways, Jarrett Freeman considers himself a normal Oklahoma City resident. He runs a company that provides IT support for small businesses, using the fact that a real person will always answer the phone as a selling point for his services. And outside of work, he keeps a quiet life.
But over the past few months, Freeman has brought a nationwide movement to OKC.
"I am so far outside of my comfort zone," Freeman said. "I don't leave my house. I run the business from here. I don't go out and party and hang out with people. So talk about being out of comfort zone."
Earlier this year, Freeman filed a public records request on automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in Oklahoma City. The devices capture vehicle data on roads throughout the country, like license plate numbers and car makes, allowing law enforcement officers to access the information in hopes of building safer communities. But many privacy advocates worry the risks they present to citizen surveillance far outweigh the gains in solving crimes.
Since receiving his responses in March, Freeman has voiced his concerns to OKC's City Council and found some of its members share his apprehension. They quickly began working together. Freeman, three city council members and representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and local organizations participated in a May town hall to advocate against widespread use of the technology.
Now, they await the results of their efforts. The City Council is expected to vote on renewing its contract with Flock Safety, its current ALPR vendor, as soon as next week.
How are ALPRs used in Oklahoma?
The use of ALPRs in Oklahoma is a legal gray area. State law expressly permits it to enforce insurance laws but doesn't address any other use cases.
Oklahoma City began its contract with Flock Safety in June 2023, renewing it in both 2024 and 2025. But the cameras were first deployed in 2022 as part of an initial pilot.
According to the Oklahoma City Police Department's Operations Manual, the purpose of the technology is to "help identify stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, missing persons, or locate vehicles connected to a crime or other law enforcement connected activities."
Flock Safety allows its technology to be used to solve a variety of crimes. OKCPD officials declined an interview request from KOSU, but said in a statement that the system has helped track stolen cars, as well as vehicles related to missing persons cases. The Oklahoman reports that officers used Flock cameras to solve a homicide in 2023, as well as a 2025 shooting in Midtown.
Flock also hosts National Lookup, a tool that allows participating agencies to access data from other departments across the country in exchange for sharing their own data. National Lookup aims to help agencies solve cases that span states and counties more quickly, but critics of the company point to this feature specifically as an argument that Flock facilitates dangerous mass surveillance.
OKCPD officials did not answer questions about whether the department participates in National Lookup. However, the department's contract with Flock states that OKCPD would be granted access to several other agencies' data throughout the state when doing business with Flock.
A version of the department's manual, published in February, said that "ALPR data will not be shared as part of a law enforcement information database." The manual was updated this month to remove that sentence, with the new text reading, "ALPR data may only be shared with other law enforcement agencies with the approval of the System Administrator."
"As is standard in public safety, policies are periodically reviewed and updated to ensure they align with current best practices, legal standards, and operational needs," a spokesperson replied when asked about the change.
The records request
In his filing, Freeman requested documents pertaining to the purchase, renewal, auditing, transparency reporting and data sharing of Flock. For him, the smoking gun in the request is explicit confirmation that the department does not keep a list of prohibited uses (although it does state all uses must be for official law enforcement duties only) or publish reports of its internal use. It has internal guidance requiring a case number and type when searching, but this is not official policy.
Advocates — one of whom Freeman has now become — say these guardrails are crucial. One of their main concerns is that bad actors in police forces contracting with Flock can use their access to the platform to stalk individuals. Take, for instance, a police officer in Milwaukee who used Flock to search for the vehicles of the person he was dating and their ex dozens of times.
So, Freeman decided to do something about his concerns. He started a website, deflockokc.com, where he posted all the documents he received in his request, as well as a petition from the ACLU of Oklahoma to remove the cameras from the city.
He also did something that scared him: he spoke to the City Council about his issues with Flock.
"This is not a company that respects the authority of the municipalities that it serves," Freeman said in his statement. "Flock's business model depends on getting cameras on the ground before contracts are served, before oversight exists, using free trials that don't require a vote. And installation is prioritized over documentation and accountability."
After the meeting ended, Freeman decompressed.
"Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying," Freeman said, laughing a bit. "I was just rattling in my shoes. Literally, I was shaking."
His comment caught the attention of a few council members. JoBeth Hamon of Ward 6 and James Cooper of Ward 2 stopped to chat with him once the meeting had ended.
Cooper began serving on the Council in 2019 and has voted against Flock's initial contract and renewal each year.
'"What happens when you take out that human element of the police officer, and it is now a robot? That's the stakes," Cooper said. "And I'm not an alarmist, but I am very practical. And in this instance, I think it is a very prudent, practical move for us to end our contract with Flock."
Why law enforcement values this technology
Oklahoma City is not the only municipality in the state to utilize Flock's services. Edmond, Guthrie, Harrah, Jenks, Tulsa and more are on the list.
Capt. Richard Meulenberg, who leads the communications unit at the Tulsa Police Department, said that his city has seen a decrease in auto thefts and an increase in auto recovery after implementing ALPRs in 2022. And over the last three years, they've achieved a 100% solve rate for homicides. He said that in cities like OKC and Tulsa, where people drive almost everywhere, ALPRs can be especially impactful.
"Public transportation isn't super awesome. So most people drive," Meulenberg said. "So having a way to capture vehicular traffic has been tremendously helpful in isolating who might have been at the scene, be it suspects or material witnesses or even other victims sometimes."
OKC Mayor David Holt shares Meulenberg's appreciation for the enhanced crime-solving opportunities ALPRs like Flock provide.
"I would also point out that most of this information is gathered in public, and there is no expectation of privacy in public," Holt said. "I think that for the most part, that's how our residents feel, and they appreciate the opportunity that it provides for public safety."
So far, federal courts have ruled that Flock usage is within localities' constitutional rights. However, individual cities in other states have chosen to remove their cameras.
Meulenberg is aware of the concerns surrounding Flock and understands why some Oklahomans may be more skeptical of it.
"It's hard to say, 'Well, look at all the good it does,' if someone has one illicit use," he said. "So even though theoretically you can say, 'Well, it's saved lives, child trafficking, kidnapping, all those type of things, you could say that."
Tulsa PD's policy manual includes specific instructions about Flock that OKCPD lacks. It explicitly restricts data searches to criminal investigations, Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, Blue Alerts and missing persons cases. It also prohibits officers from entering personally identifiable information into the system.
"I can completely understand where people are coming from because they're interested in it," Meulenberg said. "And it seems like it's cloaked in secrecy for some reason. I don't see the reason for it because the police department doesn't operate outside the Constitution, so everything we do is above board."
The town hall
Hamon, Cooper and Ward 7 Councilman Camal Pennington gathered in late May with more than 100 other Oklahoma City residents at Mayflower Congregational Church for a town hall on mitigating the use of Flock in the city. Freeman spoke as part of the event's panel.
Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel at ACLU's national office, gave a presentation on why his organization finds Flock dangerous, and what can be done to stop it. Though banning ALPRs entirely is the most thorough way to eliminate the perceived risks, he also encouraged attendees to consider stricter rules on their use as an option.
Cooper put it more bluntly: "I want the maximalist position of ending the contract, but I don't always get what I want, like a Rolling Stones song."
Marlow suggested some different regulatory ideas, such as allowing ALPR hits to be generated only for more serious crimes, as well as automobile infractions, like insurance noncompliance. He also said limiting the length of time which ALPR data may be stored could make the technology safer. A 48-hour retention period, for example, would make it more difficult for a rogue officer to track weekly or other regular visits, like doctors' offices and houses of worship. The standard retention period on Flock systems is 30 days.
Marlow also pointed to Flock specifically as the "most problematic" ALPR vendor in the U.S. Among his concerns are allegations that Flock uses workers in the Philippines to classify vehicle images for artificial intelligence training. And in Denver, the city council ended its Flock contract after a public records request found a program that gave immigration agents access to some Colorado data.
Some cities, like Tulsa, choose to opt out of the National Lookup feature. Meulenberg said some other agencies can access Tulsa PD data, but that's only after the two agencies enter into an agreement. Agencies that don't have explicit permission from Tulsa PD can't access the information, even if they also use Flock systems.
Looking ahead in Oklahoma City
Freeman said he knows that the arguments against Flock may not sway all council members this time. They may see real benefits. But he hopes his initiative will spur the change in direction he wants to see.
"If we can get them to really look into our vendors, it's not even just Flock," Freeman said. "Who are we paying to do things for the city? Are they reputable? Are they trustworthy? And if we can get those questions flowing, maybe we can at least get the right questions to be brought up, or at least people thinking in the right lanes."
The city is set to vote on its third Flock renewal this summer, possibly as early as July 7. Regardless of the result, Freeman has a message for anyone who wants to make a change in their community.
"Three months ago, I was just a guy sitting behind a computer screen, and I decided to start asking some questions," Freeman said. "You don't have to be somebody special to start making waves."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
