San Diego councilmember switches stance on Flock cameras, calls for their removal

A San Diego city councilmember called for the city to remove its Flock cameras Tuesday, saying they are causing too much fear in local communities.

Councilman Stephen Whitburn has repeatedly voted to keep Flock's automated license plate reader cameras, which are densest in Council District 3 of downtown, Balboa Park and its surrounding parts, but said national events have changed his mind.

With last week's report about ICE expanding its operation in San Diego and targeting schools and construction sites , the urgency to turn off the cameras has heightened, said Whitburn.

The Trump administration and ICE and their un-American, anti-immigrant brutality have created a police state in many of our communities. Many people worry Flock cameras are being used in that crackdown," Whitburn said.

Whitburn said until now, he voted in favor of the cameras as a matter of public safety, for helping to solve crimes and the belief that the police department used them responsibly.