{"slug": "flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked", "title": "Flock Safety cameras vandalized on Long Island after accusations cop tracked lover", "summary": "Four Flock Safety cameras in Southold, Long Island, were vandalized in July amid nationwide backlash against the AI-powered surveillance technology, with incidents including paint splattering, unplugged wires, and one camera run over by a vehicle, according to Southold Police Chief Steve Grattan. The backlash follows the arrest of 18 Georgia cops, including a supervisor who used the system to track her boyfriend, for misusing Flock data. Flock Safety has deployed nearly 90,000 cameras across more than 5,000 police agencies since 2018, prompting state and federal legislation to restrict its use.", "body_md": "[Long Island](https://nypost.com/long-island/)\n\nexclusive details\n\n# Flock Safety cameras vandalized on Long Island after accusations cop tracked lover\n\nSee more of our coverage in your search results.\n\n[Add The New York Post on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com)\n\nFour [Flock Safety cameras](https://nypost.com/2026/07/17/us-news/lapd-renegotiates-controversial-flock-contract-amid-privacy-concerns/) in one Long Island town were vandalized in July as backlash against the software grows nationwide — with one wild case including claims a cop down south illegally used it to track her lover.\n\nThe AI-powered cameras, located in the [Long Island East End](https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/lifestyle/inside-the-hamptons-power-synagogue-thats-become-the-ultimate-political-pitstop/) town of Southold, were targeted amid a wave of anti-Flock backlash featuring similar kinds of vandalism that is sweeping the country, Southold Police Chief Steve Grattan confirmed to The Post.\n\n“We had two cameras vandalized on July 4 weekend — both had paint splattered on them and one had the wires unplugged,” Grattan said.\n\n“This past Monday evening, one of the cameras was run over by a vehicle and another had the wires unplugged,” he added.\n\nAnother Flock camera, located on Main Road in Peconic, was also flipped around so it no longer pointed toward the street, but police couldn’t say if it was an intentional act or a result of recent storms.\n\nThe controversial tech can track a car’s every move based on its dents, bumper stickers and roof racks — raising Fourth Amendment and privacy concerns, particularly after headline-grabbing instances of authorities abusing the software.\n\nRecently, 18 cops in Georgia — including a police supervisor who used the camera system to track her boyfriend — have been arrested for misusing Flock Safety camera data, according to reports.\n\nVandals have been hitting Flock Safety systems during the backlash with multiple instances [in California](https://nypost.com/2026/07/29/us-news/flock-cameras-vandalized-in-monterey-county/), Connecticut and upstate New York in the last month alone, according to officials and sources.\n\nFlock, which has quietly become law enforcement’s go-to surveillance tool around the country, has already wired itself into more than 5,000 police agencies nationwide with nearly 90,000 cameras since 2018, [according to DeFlock](https://nypost.com/2026/07/21/us-news/map-exposes-californias-shocking-flock-camera-surveillance-hotspots/), an activist group tracking the company’s surveillance and expansion.\n\nSouthold now has 11 Flock Safety cameras throughout the town. The tech, criticized as [“Big Brother”-style mass surveillance](https://nypost.com/2026/01/26/us-news/long-island-town-unveils-big-brother-command-center-leaving-some-residents-musing-about-george-orwells-1984/) systems for the local government, have been installed throughout Greenport, East Marion, Mattituck and Peconic, with the first four Flock cameras deployed in late 2022 while seven more were added last year.\n\nPoliticians on both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation in an attempt to cap Flock’s reach and strengthen constitutional unreasonable “search and seizure” protections.\n\nState lawmakers are considering a bill that would restrict how government agencies can use and share the license plate data acquired through the cameras.\n\nIt would also require the data be deleted within 48 hours of being captured, and mandate annual reports detailing camera locations, searches, matches and any outside access granted.\n\nOn the federal level, a slew of bills have been introduced to regulate the tech, including [new legislation by Rep. Thomas Massie](https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/us-news/new-bill-aims-to-block-federal-funds-from-cities-police-that-use-controversial-flock-safety-cameras/), a Kentucky Republican, that would strip federal funding from any local governments or police departments that deploy the controversial security cameras.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked", "canonical_source": "https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/us-news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked-lover/", "published_at": "2026-08-02 20:44:50+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-02 20:59:54.455648+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Flock Safety", "Southold Police", "Steve Grattan", "DeFlock", "Rep. Thomas Massie"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked.jsonld"}}