To the Editor:

It’s nice to see Aaron Brown asking questions about the use of Flock cameras across the state (“Brown: With Flock cameras, you’re never alone on Minnesota Roads”), but it misses the point about how security of this data and how it may be used by federal agencies. While the quote from John Boehler of the Minnesota ACLU focuses on how data is being used by third-party companies, nationally the ACLU is raising flags about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of this data which they are getting from local law enforcement agencies that have signed 287(g) agreements with the federal agency. In fact, seven counties and one city in Minnesota have these agreements, as previously reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.  

Furthermore, the Minnesota Star Tribune has reported that a handful of communities have recently ended their Flock contracts, including Brooklyn Park and Shorewood, and one contract is being discussed in Champlin (“Some Twin Cities suburbs shut of license plate cameras over data sharing concerns” April 7) because of these data sharing concerns.  

That is why a group of residents in St. Louis Park has been calling on the city council to strengthen its oversight over the 16 cameras currently in use in our western suburb. 

During a city council work session in early April, the police department assured council members that data is not shared with any Minnesota law enforcement agencies across that do not have individual written agreements with SLPPD. But they could not guarantee that these organizations do not share data with federal agencies.I understand that these automatic license plate readers are just one more tool to help law enforcement agencies fight crime, but each and every agency must be be responsible and take aggressive steps to protect residents and their personal data. Unless the St. Louis Park City Council decides to end the use of these cameras, we are urging them to codify the city and police department’s current policies so residents can be assured that everyone’s personal data will be well protected into the future.

Peter Ashkenaz
St. Louis Park

Published in the Minnesota Star Tribune on May 4, 2026