The future of Flock cameras is on the table this week in one of Texas' major cities. The El Paso City Council will consider two proposals that could potentially lead to the municipality ripping out all of its controversial Flock cameras.
Councilmembers Chris Canales and Josh Acevedo introduced both agenda items, which are set to be addressed at the Sept. 15 meeting in El Paso.
If approved, the first proposal would order El Paso's city manager to remove all Flock cameras and related equipment from city property, rights of way and other areas under the city's control within 60 days.
"The direction would apply regardless of ownership of the equipment and would allow the City Manager to either physically remove the equipment or coordinate its removal by Flock Safety or another appropriate party," according to the agenda item summary form.
RELATED: Flock cameras are rapidly disappearing across Texas. Here's where.
A second proposal, if passed, would stop the city from signing, renewing or extending agreements with Flock Safety or similar companies to buy or use fixed license plate-reading cameras. It also would direct the city attorney to draft a formal resolution within 30 days to put the policy in place.
"It would prevent the discontinued Flock Safety system from being replaced with another vendor or substantially similar fixed, networked surveillance technology without further action by the City Council," the agenda item summary reads. "The direction would not prohibit handheld license plate reader technology, vehicle-mounted systems, or technology used specifically for parking enforcement, access control, or toll collection."
KTSM in El Paso estimates that roughly 150 Flock cameras have been deployed across the city.
RELATED: Do Flock cameras make Texans feel safer or more watched?
The items will hit the agenda just a few weeks after the El Paso Police Department halted use of the city's Flock system, as reported by KTSM in early September.
At the time, El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas issued a warning that the decision could potentially slow response times. Canales celebrated the announcement in a Sept. 2 Facebook post.
"Flock has time and time again shown itself to be untrustworthy as a company, with its system prone to misuse and abuse," Canales wrote. "I'm glad this experiment is over."
In late August, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras amid growing scrutiny about mass surveillance and misuse.
At least 20 Texas cities and counties have already 'de-Flocked,' cutting ties with Flock Safety, refusing new contracts or taking cameras offline. As of Sunday, more than 16,500 Flock cameras remain in the state, according to Flock Camera Locations, with Houston reigning as the most-documented city.
Schools | 'Sexist' dress-code fight erupts at Houston-area middle school
Rants | Texas Republican goes off on AI, data centers, immigration and elites
Politics | Ted Cruz, Dan Patrick talk Texas 'crazies' before 2026 election
| $9.5M of drugs found in trailer at Texas border crossing
For the latest and best from Chron, sign up for our daily newsletter here.
This article originally published at This Texas city could soon tear down 150 Flock cameras.