Key points:
• Speakers before and after the meeting condemned the Dunwoody City Council for signing an agreement with Flock Safety, citing data breaches.
• The council said it was satisfied with “guard rails” in the modified contract, but said there was more work to do.
• Flock officials apologized to the MJCCA officials for using their cameras for demonstration purposes.
The Dunwoody City Council on April 13 approved a master services agreement with Flock Safety, while dozens of attendees protesting the move heckled the panel with chants of “shame” after the vote.
The Dunwoody City Council at both its March 23 and April 13 meetings heard a myriad of concerns about Flock cameras installed around the city. After hearing about data guardrails installed to ensure that Dunwoody’s data would not be shared or used as a demonstration site, the council unanimously renewed a series of contracts to continue using Flock within the department.
Speakers during public comment held before and after the meeting hammered the council with demands for accountability as the panel grapples with concerns about data sharing and its terms and conditions.
Speakers decry decision
Several speakers cited a recent incident wherein members of the Flock sales department accessed interior cameras at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, showing children swimming at the pool and others doing gymnastics.
Others likened employees of Flock Safety as “little Epsteins,” referring to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while others urged the council to either pause or cancel the contract altogether.
During the council discussion before the vote, Mayor Lynn Deutsch addressed the issue.
“I’m not excusing it at all,” she said of the MJCCA incident. “I’m very frustrated and angry. They [Flock] apologized to the JCC.”
Deutsch said part of the modified agreement says that Dunwoody cameras will not be used for demonstration purposes. Jill Dunn, the city’s outside counsel, added that significant contract modifications have put guard rails around the agreement, and that it cannot be modified without notifying city officials, specifically City Manager Eric Linton.
Ken Bernard, the city’s attorney, said controversy around the Flock Safety cameras and past data breaches demonstrates the need to have “civilian oversight before we introduce new technology.”
“I feel like the checklist [of concerns] has been accomplished, but we have to police ourselves,” he said. “Is it perfect? No. But it’s much better than where we were.”
In other action, the council discussed several amendments to the city’s charter that will allow changes to the municipal court, post-election meeting dates, and could allow for special districts, general obligation bonds, and intergovernmental contracts backing-revenue bonds issued pursuant to law.
Council Member John Heneghan, while acknowledging the legality of the special district changes, said he was not in favor of a potential tax increase that is not put before the voters.
“I know we are legally able to do it, but I believe we should go to the citizens to ask for this,” Heneghan said.
In other action
- The council recognized the members of the 2025 Citizens on Patrol and balliffs.
- Deutsch administered oaths of office to new officers Jonathan Coachman and Jaimeson M. Pollen.
- The council discussed bridge enhancements on I-285 with the Perimeter CID, and an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation for the top end I-285 express lane enhancements.
