‘We’re fighting this fight for you, and, I hope, with you’: Aurora Police Department Receives Politically Charged Email from CEO

For months, outspoken citizens of Staunton, Virginia have been voicing their concerns at city council meetings over their police department’s use of automated license plate cameras. Staunton is a city of about 26,000 residents that, according to an open-source mapping project called Deflock.me, operates 9 Flock ALPR cameras (ALPR stands for Automated License Plate Reader).

Flock Safety is one of the largest players in the surveillance tech market with over 80,000 cameras in operation around the United States. Police departments are among their largest clients. A report from the Congressional Research Office laid out how police departments can use ALPRs to assist in law enforcement operations; police can use them to collect evidence in criminal investigations, locate missing persons and vehicles, enforce traffic violations, and more.

Flock Safety’s recent rise to prominence – and the proliferation of ALPRs in general – has coincided with a rise in public scrutiny. Last month, 404 Media and independent researcher Benn Jordan found 60 compromised Flock cameras around the country that exposed live camera feeds online. Flock Safety responded that only a limited number of devices were affected by the issue, and that it was quickly fixed. However, that hasn't stopped cities around the country from cutting ties with Flock Safety over these and other concerns regarding data privacy.

On December 8th, Flock Safety’s CEO, Garrett Langley, addressed these concerns on LinkedIn. “The Flock system has not been hacked… When we are made aware of vulnerabilities, even when they are immaterial, we actively report them ourselves, and develop a mitigation plan. Many of the recent claims made online have already been addressed by our security and engineering teams.”

The email he sent to law enforcement that same day, however, contained very different language. The subject line reads “Fact Check: No Hack. We will never stop fighting for you.” In the body of the email, Langley characterizes the wave of public scrutiny as a “coordinated attack” on both Flock Safety and law enforcement from “activists” who want to “normalize lawlessness”. He ends the email urging law enforcement to join Flock Safety in "fighting this fight".

News of this email broke on December 19th when the city of Staunton, Virginia announced they’d be terminating their contract with Flock Safety in a press release. Attached to the press release is the email thread between Langley and Staunton's Police Chief, Jim Williams. In his emailed response, Chief Williams rebukes Langley’s characterization of events:

“As far as your assertion that we are currently under attack, I do not believe that this is so. I have dedicated the last 41 years of my life to serving the citizens of the City of Staunton as a police officer, the last 22 as the police chief. What we are seeing here is a group of local citizens who are raising concerns that we could be potentially surveilling private citizens, residents and visitors and using the data for nefarious purposes These citizens have been exercising their rights to receive answers from me, my staff, and city officials, to include our elected leaders. In short, it is democracy in action.”

The press release itself reads as follows:

“The City of Staunton wants to make it clear that the Flock Safety CEO’s narrative does not reflect the city’s values. The Staunton Police Department reported numerous successes utilizing this technology.  Unfortunately, the city does not agree with the assessment as detailed by the CEO of Flock Safety. The Staunton Police Department remains fully committed to public safety through community-based policing, investigative techniques that utilize best practices, and other technology solutions. The City of Staunton is currently coordinating with Flock Safety to finalize the contract termination, turn off the license plate readers, and have them removed. In the near future, the city will provide an update with a more specific timeline.”

A few days later, Michael Kochis – the Police Chief of Charlottesville, Virginia – spoke to Cville Right Now about the email. He said he ignored the email, describing it as “unprofessional” and having been sent from a “venting CEO”. He also confirmed that Langley’s email was sent to all of Flock Safety’s law enforcement partners around the country, which is roughly 5,000 as of reporting on November 1st, 2025.

In light of these developments, I reached out to my local police department in Aurora, IL. According to Deflock.me, the Aurora Police Department currently operates 22 Flock ALPR cameras. I asked them to confirm if Aurora’s Chief of Police, Matt Thomas, received the same email from Langley, as well as if they were considering reevaluating their use of Flock Safety’s cameras. Here’s how they responded:

“The Aurora Police Department does utilize license plate reader technology, including systems provided by Flock Safety, as an investigative tool in support of public safety and criminal investigations. We did receive the unsolicited email from Flock Safety’s CEO referenced in your message. The statements and viewpoints expressed by the CEO were made independently without consultation with the Aurora Police Department, and they do not influence how we approach our responsibilities or decision-making. Our focus remains on the practical use of technology to help solve crimes and protect the community. License plate reader systems have proven to be a useful investigative resource when used appropriately, and they are one of many tools available to investigators. Their use by the Aurora Police Department is governed by Illinois law and department policy.”

Aurora is one of roughly 200 police departments in Illinois that use Flock Safety's ALPR cameras.