(PENSACOLA, Fl.) --- Pensacola residents are scared and they let Mayor D.C. Reeves and the Pensacola City Council members know last night.
I am going to let OpGov.ai lead this story with the platform's account of last night's regular scheduled meeting.
"The January 15th, 2026 Pensacola City Council meeting was marked by significant public outrage and critical council debate, primarily concerning the city's perceived lack of transparency and mismanaged priorities."
Not to mention the "widespread public opposition to the Pensacola Police Department's contract with Flock surveillance cameras, with numerous residents citing privacy concerns, potential misuse of data by agencies like ICE and CBP, AI unreliability, and a lack of public input regarding the contract."
Not only did the platform pick all that up, but it also lists the numerous residents' concerns seen below that this real-time reporter followed up with pictures and the residents' exact words as you will read.
With all that, the most important thing to bring out of the meeting is that the citizen after citizen approached the podium, pleading for officials to not continue any Flock contracts with the Pensacola Police Department.
OpGov.ai Public Comment Summary showing resident after resident rejecting Flock cameras here.
Now I am going to tell you what this reporter saw as I sat in the room and watched it go down. Not only is the AI platform frighteningly accurate I told officials last night when I introduced myself in the Leroy Boyd Forum, but it provides the utmost detail as you can read here.
Chance Brummett started off the string of concern, saying the contract "was made without our consent and without our input."
"It's honestly upsetting how familiar we are with being left out of the decision-making process," Brummett said. "Back door deals and secret meetings are more familiar to us than transparency and community meetings."
Sarah Brummett shared the stark reality of Flock and how the public is being watched without their permission while they pay for it.
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
"The pattern in which city leadership makes decisions that are ultimately out of public view and then massages them as a public perception in order to avoid pushback," Brummett said.
"In this case, I'm here to speak about the fact that this city, through the police department, signed a contract to install flock cameras, which, for those who don't know what flock is, is an AI-powered mass surveillance technology straight out of a dystopian sci-fi movie," Brummett added.
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
Dashawn McKenzie followed, saying "a large number of us have come tonight with a very straightforward request." McKenzie said after researching Flock cameras, he found that they are "used for an increased surveillance state."
"Women, immigrants, and others are at increased risk of these license plate reading cameras that track our movements and store our data," McKenzie said.
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
Harper Cummings approached noting she was with Defensa Gulf Coast, " "here to speak against, the police department's contract with Flock surveillance."
"I really appreciate all of the information everyone else has given," Cumming said, noting recent nationwide ICE raids. "They've been sending masked thugs into our cities; they've been sending mass thugs into our cities who are there to terrorize us."
OpGov.ai reports the same. The AI platfrom reports Cummings "contextualized the outrage by mentioning federal government actions, including 'masked thugs' terrorizing cities, kidnapping immigrants, and the use of detention centers described as 'torture sites,' and "argued that the city should not provide more tools to agencies like ICE, regardless of intent, as the system is used to track and abuse people."
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
One resident only offered her first name. But she did let officials know that she was with Defensa Gulf Coast along with her some of her peers who spoke before her.
"My name is Paloma," she said, adding "this implementation of Flock is deeply concerning."
"Why is our leadership ready to join in on mass surveillance of people in this country?" Paloma asked. "What guardrails are in place to prevent misusing the information that the system collects?"
Paloma wasted no time getting right to the point.
"Government agencies, like police departments, have a history of abusing these sorts of surveillance systems to stalk their partners and ex-girlfriends and wives," Paloma said. "What measures
are we going to be putting in place to ensure that this doesn't happen?"
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
Larry Downs closed out the first Leroy Boyd Forum, which opened back up later with more concerned citizens. OpGov.ai reportsDowns "Began by humorously connecting his plumbing business to public health," before "criticizing both red light cameras and Flock surveillance, expressing strong anti-big government sentiments."
What did he actually say.
"If we just stick with freedom, the basic principles of liberty giving other people the opportunity or the permission to video us," Jones asked. "Y'all think it's okay for y'all, for our government to treat us like children? What is wrong with you?"
And that was just the first Leroy Forum.
OpGov.ai picked up more public criticism after the agenda was handled, with Jasmine Brown expressing concern that the AI-driven system lacks privacy protections and doesn't make the community feel safer."
She cited public outcry in other cities (Crestview, Santa Cruz) and warned of data misuse, including a case where the system was used for an abortion search," the platform reports. "Brown emphasized that decisions like this, made without community communication, are unacceptable, urging leaders to protect the community by ending the contract."
Henderson Alfonso had no problem saying the city "allegedly advertised as 'new red light cameras' but discreetly bypassed public input," the platform reports, adding "he cited other cities terminating contracts and urged the council to listen to constituents."
One of more than a dozen residents who oppose the Pensacola Police Department renewing a Flock contract
Gina Chivers, a lifelong Pensacola resident, also rejects the surveillance.
"Chivers highlighted the real safety threat from police misuse of surveillance technology, referencing a former police chief tracking an ex-girlfriend and other ACLU-reported cases," the platform reports. "She warned of hostility and lawsuits, vowing that citizens would continue to hold the council accountable until the contract is canceled."
OpGov.ai Key Takeaways from the Pensacola City Council Meeting, Thursday, Jan.15.
Needless to say, citizens reading this should heed their neighbors' concerns and reject the use of Flock.
I know I do.
After the residents' rejection closed out the four-hour-long meeting, my platform picked up in 10 minutes, and Council President Allison Patton adjourned.
OpGov.ai's conclusion.
"The meeting painted a picture of a council struggling to address administrative shortcomings and a deeply distrustful public critical of decisions favoring developers and downtown projects over the direct needs of working-class citizens," the platform reports.
Please leave a comment below, or feel free to email reporterangelaunderwood@gmail.com if you would like to add to this story.
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