Residents push back against Flock police cameras with homemade blockades
In a quiet Minnesota neighborhood, one man is turning a roof rake into a protest tool. Brady O'Rourke now walks to a busy intersection near
In a quiet Minnesota neighborhood, one man is turning a roof rake into a protest tool. Brady O'Rourke now walks to a busy intersection near his home in Crystal carrying a long metal pole with a bright yellow sign taped to the end, and he uses it to block a Flock surveillance camera that tracks vehicles passing along the street.
The camera sits at the corner and, under normal conditions, records every car that goes by. O'Rourke lifts his makeshift shield high enough to cut off its view. Drivers notice. Some smile and wave. A few honk. The scene is small, improvised and very public.
A local act with wider meaning
O'Rourke is part of a growing backlash against Flock cameras, automated license plate readers used by police. In Crystal, he says he objects to paying for technology he sees as a threat to privacy.
"I don't want to pay to be surveilled," he said. "My tax dollars are funding cameras at the end of my block. I don't want to live like that. I don't think anybody should have to live like that."
His protest is simple enough to copy. It was inspired by a man in Florida who used a pool skimmer in the same way, blocking a camera’s view from the roadside.
Why the cameras are drawing anger
Flock systems have become a flashpoint in local debates over police surveillance. Supporters say the cameras help law enforcement track vehicles. Critics see something different: a network that watches ordinary driving without much say from the people being recorded.
That tension has spilled into direct action. In Crystal, O'Rourke does not pull apart the camera or hide it in a bag. He stands in front of it, sign raised, and lets the cameras miss what they were installed to capture. It is a blunt message, and a visible one.
For now, the protest remains low-tech. A roof rake. A yellow sign. A camera at the end of the block, and a neighbor determined to block its eye.
