CUSTER COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — The Custer County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) has ended its contract with Flock Safety, removing the automated license plate reader cameras the agency says played a role in several serious investigations. The announcement Wednesday morning comes a week after the El Paso County Sheriff's Office made a similar announcement.
A Flock contractor removed the remaining cameras from the county this past weekend, according to CCSO.
The agency said it decided to end the program after concerns about privacy and how license plate reader databases have been used by law enforcement agencies across the country.
Here are some of the ways the sheriff's office said Flock was used in Custer County:
- Triple homicide investigation: In November 2023, deputies issued a nationwide Be On the Lookout alert for a suspect in a Custer County triple homicide. A deputy in a neighboring county used Flock to locate the suspect's vehicle at a Walmart in Salida. The suspect had already left by the time law enforcement arrived.
- Suspect tracked into New Mexico: The following morning, a Flock camera in Santa Fe, New Mexico, captured the suspect's vehicle. Investigators used that information to estimate when the vehicle would reach Albuquerque. Officers intercepted the vehicle and made a high-risk traffic stop, arresting the suspect without anyone being injured.
- Armed juvenile carjacking: More recently, CCSO used Flock to locate a vehicle stolen during an armed carjacking in Silver Cliff. The vehicle was found in Cañon City, where other agencies began and later ended a pursuit. The suspect later fired at officers and civilians while driving north on Highway 115 and carjacked two additional vehicles before being arrested by Colorado Springs police.
- Local warrants: The sheriff's office also said Flock alerts were used to notify deputies when vehicles connected to local warrants entered Custer County.
Why the sheriff ended the program
CCSO said it initially had three Flock cameras. The system originally allowed license plate data to be shared with law enforcement agencies nationwide, with data automatically deleted after 30 days. The sheriff's office later restricted access to its data to Colorado law enforcement agencies. Colorado law prohibits law enforcement agencies in the state from sharing license plate reader data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The law also prohibits sharing data related to reproductive health care services. The sheriff's office said reports of law enforcement officers misusing license plate reader databases for searches unrelated to criminal investigations raised concerns for Sheriff Smith.
The agency also said an increasing number of Custer County residents contacted the sheriff with privacy concerns and asked that the cameras be removed.
CCSO notified Flock on March 24 that it wanted to cancel the contract, according to a post on Facebook.
In early August, a vandal used a reciprocating saw to cut down two Flock camera poles on Highway 69 north of Reed Road. The remaining equipment was removed this past weekend.
The sheriff's office said it does not currently plan to install license plate reader cameras from another company. It also does not plan to install photo radar cameras that had previously been discussed.
The agency acknowledged that other companies offer similar technology and said those systems could present similar privacy concerns.
The full post from CCSO can be read below:
The Custer County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) has ended its contract with Flock Safety, the company that provides automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. A Flock contractor removed the last cameras this past weekend.
A Proven Investigative Tool
The Flock system was important in several serious cases in Custer County.
In November 2023, a triple homicide happened in Custer County. While deputies were still working the crime scene, CCSO sent a nationwide Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert for the suspect. A deputy in a neighboring county used Flock to find the suspect's vehicle at the Walmart in Salida. The Salida Police Department and Chaffee County Sheriff's Office responded and searched the area, but the suspect had already left.
The next morning, a Flock camera in Santa Fe, New Mexico, recorded the suspect's vehicle. The U.S. Marshals Task Force, along with state, county, and local officers, used that information to estimate when the suspect would reach Albuquerque. Officers got there in time to spot the vehicle and make a high-risk traffic stop. The suspect was arrested and no one was hurt.
More recently, an armed juvenile carjacked a vehicle in Silver Cliff Colorado. CCSO used Flock to find the stolen vehicle in Cañon City. Other agencies began and later terminated a pursuit. Later the suspect fired at officers and citizens while driving north on Highway 115. He carjacked two more vehicles before the Colorado Springs Police Department caught him.
CCSO also used Flock alerts to learn when vehicles linked to local warrants entered the county.
Data Retention and Sharing Safeguards
CCSO started with three Flock cameras. At first, the cameras shared license plate data with any law enforcement agency in the country. The data was deleted automatically after 30 days, which is well under Colorado's one-year storage limit. Later, CCSO allowed only Colorado law enforcement agencies to access its data.
Colorado law now bars all Colorado agencies from sharing this data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It also bars sharing data related to reproductive health care services.
Public Concerns and Contract Cancellation
Across the country, news reports accused some officers of misusing license plate reader databases for searches that had nothing to do with criminal investigations. Sheriff Smith was troubled that a valuable investigative tool had been misused. A growing number Custer County residents also told the Sheriff they were concerned and asked that the cameras be taken down.
On March 24, 2026, CCSO told Flock it wanted to cancel the contract. In early August, a vandal used a reciprocating saw to cut down two Flock camera poles on Highway 69 north of Reed Road. This past weekend, a Flock contractor removed the rest of their equipment from our county and the contract is now over.
Looking Ahead
The Sheriff's Office knows other companies sell similar license plate reader systems. The other vendors could still pose some privacy issues. At this time, CCSO does not plan to install license plate reader cameras or the photo radar cameras that had been discussed in the past.
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