Flock cameras covered with bags per order of the mayor
Flock Safety cameras around Waltham have been covered with black plastic bags per order of Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy, according to Waltham Police Department public information officer Det. Cap. Timothy Maher. The first reports of cameras being covered came in on Tuesday.
McCarthy confirmed that she ordered the cameras to be covered in an interview with The Waltham Times on Friday, Sept. 11. She said she had sent a letter by Federal Express to Flock Safety asking for information but the letter was returned unopened. After seeing recent television interviews with Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley, “I have no confidence about how the company is handling data,” McCarthy said.
Note: This story was originally published on Sept. 10, 2026. It was been updated on Sept. 11, 3:04 p.m., with additional information from the Times’ interview with McCarthy.
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It is about time. Waltham residents clearly don’t want this, and the opposition to the surveillance state and tech bro takeover unites those all over the political spectrum. The city’s unwillingness to be transparent about absolutely any aspect of this deployment was a dismal failure, and I won’t be surprised if it comes out that an officer was abusing the system. What else could possibly compel Mayor McCarthy to bag these?
Hopefully they are gone for good and not replaced with another (arguably worse) ALPR like Axon or Vigilant. It is time that the city councilors introduce a policy to prevent this from ever happening again. The fight is not over .
Thank You Mayor,
It’s the right thing to do.
All flock cameras should be removed. This type of surveillance is how China watches and controls it’s population.