INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — The City of Independence will remove all of its Flock Safety cameras, according to a notice from Mayor Chris Reinersman sent Monday morning.
The decision was announced around one week after residents packed into an Independence city council meeting on August 17 to debate whether the city should expand its use of the license plate reader cameras.
At that meeting, residents expressed concern about privacy and who may have access to any data collected by the cameras. Reinersman, along with Independence Police Chief Brian Ferayorni, defended the cameras during that meeting.
Reinersman said his stance hasn't changed, but that he couldn't ignore residents' concerns.
"I want to be clear that my position on the cameras themselves has not changed," reads the statement from Reinersman. "I continue to believe our original decision to utilize this technology was a sound one. I do not believe the cameras pose the threat to personal privacy or potential for widespread abuse that has sometimes been portrayed, particularly on social media."
He added the cameras have proven they can be valuable as an effective tool for law enforcement.
Still, Reinersman said after the meeting he is aware that resident response has predominantly been opposed to the cameras, "with very limited public support expressed for keeping them."
Independence first began using the technology in 2024, installing 10 cameras that police described as creating a "virtual gate" around the city. The Independence Police Department shared data with WCPO showing what it calls 31 "documented successes" from December 2023 through July 2026. The crimes the department says Flock has assisted with include theft, assault, weapons offenses and — the largest category — stolen vehicles.
During last week's city council meeting, Ferayorni said the cameras have only been used for active investigations.
"We are not using any data [from] Flock cameras; they are only used if officers are actively investigating criminal acts or assisting in locating missing or endangered people," Ferayorni said.
But the idea of a "virtual gate" surrounding Independence was not appealing to all residents who would live within that gate.
"This is a violation of our Fourth Amendment right. And the police and our chief said it puts up a virtual gate. Since when do we check in and out of the City of Independence?" a resident said at last week's meeting.
Reinersman said the city will remove the cameras after the public's opposition.
"While I personally continue to believe the cameras can be a valuable and appropriate law enforcement tool, I also believe strongly that elected officials must respect the will of the people they represent," Reinsersman wrote. "We were elected to serve the residents of Independence, and when our community speaks this clearly, we have an obligation to listen."
Independence is not the first Northern Kentucky municipality to reconsider its use of Flock Safety cameras after residents spoke out against them. Newport decided to end its Flock pilot program and remove the cameras in July.
