Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The city of Wausau has officially added itself to the list of communities cutting ties with FLOCK Safety.
Several Alders said if negative headlines about FLOCK were around three years ago, they wouldn’t have welcomed the cameras into the community. “[Those issues] weren’t on anyone’s radar,” said Alder Carol Lukens. “Had I known then what I know now, there is no way I would have voted for it.”
Alder Vicki Tierney said the technology was pitched as a crime-fighting tool, but you can’t ignore the negatives. “What was given to us was that this is a tool that might be helpful to the police department. I don’t think anybody in their wildest dreams thought about how this could be used against people—law-abiding citizens.
“It was a tool to catch the bad guy, and in some ways it has become the tool of the bad guy,” she added.
Tuesday’s vote was 9-1. Alder Bruce Trueblood voted no, fearing legal repercussions. Police Chief Matthew Barnes told the Council that he isn’t aware of any negative outcomes in any other community that has taken similar action.
The resolution calls for the city’s Public Works Department to cover the cameras within two weeks. The equipment remains the property of FLOCK, meaning it will be their responsibility to take them down.
Other Wisconsin communities that have severed ties with FLOCK include Racine, Waukesha, Menasha, and Ashland. Sheriff’s Departments in Dane, Racine, Winnebago, and Fond du Lac Counties have also ended their relationships with the company.
Comments