February 24, 2026
Plates, privacy, petty fights
Denver dumps Flock, awards contract to Axon
From scandal to swap: Is Axon a fix or just a fresh label
TLDR: Denver fired Flock and picked Axon for license‑plate cameras after privacy scandals and a contract revolt. Commenters are split: some celebrate ditching Flock, others say it’s a cosmetic swap and even accuse Axon of lobbying against strong privacy rules—raising big questions about safety vs. surveillance.
Denver just slammed the door on Flock Safety’s license‑plate cameras and invited rival Axon in—and the comments section is absolutely feral. After a year of scandals—secret data access for Border Patrol, a CEO accused by the council president of lying, and even the city auditor refusing to sign the last deal—Mayor Mike Johnston says the switch honors public feedback and will need council approval this time. Axon, which says it doesn’t run a national data‑sharing network, gets the nod. But the crowd is split.
One camp shrugs: this is a rebound, not a reform. As one cynic puts it, it’s just “people dumping Flock over bad publicity” while keeping the same automated license plate reader (ALPR) tech. Another camp cheers the breakup: ALPR can help if it’s tightly managed—they just think Flock “is an ass of a company.” Legal sticklers show up waving the “Anti‑Pinkerton” flag, claiming the government can’t buy services it couldn’t legally do itself. Meanwhile, plot twist: a commenter says Axon allegedly lobbied hard in Oregon to water down privacy rules, prompting a chorus of “meet the new boss” memes. Add confusion over whether Axon and Flock were ever buddies (they were partners, then split), and you’ve got peak comment‑section chaos. The real cliffhanger: will Axon actually deliver safer streets and stronger privacy—or just a new logo on the same surveillance debate?
Key Points
- •Denver will end its ALPR contract with Flock Safety and award the new contract to Axon.
- •The new contract will require Denver City Council approval, reversing prior unilateral extensions by Mayor Mike Johnston.
- •Investigations found Flock placed Denver’s data on a national network and had an undisclosed partnership with U.S. Border Patrol.
- •Denver’s auditor refused to countersign Flock’s contract over legal concerns about sharing personally identifiable information under Colorado law.
- •Axon previously integrated with Flock, launched its own ALPR product, and says it does not run a national data-sharing network.