Wichita Man Sues City For Unwarranted Surveillance With Over 200 Flock Cameras

Automated license-plate readers do more than alert police when a stolen vehicle passes by. They create searchable records showing where ordinary people drove, when they were there, and sometimes who they were traveling with. One Wichita resident says that amounts to unconstitutional surveillance, and he wants a Kansas court to shut down the city’s entire camera network.

 

Mason Grimmett filed the lawsuit against Wichita on July 30. Represented by the Kansas Justice Institute, he argues that the city’s roughly 200 Flock Safety cameras photograph and catalog every passing vehicle without a warrant, probable cause, or judicial oversight. Grimmett is not asking for a settlement. He wants the court to declare Wichita’s program unconstitutional under Section 15 of the Kansas Bill of Rights and order the cameras removed.