The nine-month pilot program is free to the county, except for any expenses related to loss, damage, theft or destruction of Flock’s equipment. But there’s a catch: If the county doesn’t opt out of the program by Dec. 15, 2026, a two-year, $2.5 million contract goes into effect.
Undersheriff Timothy Willis told the commission’s public health and safety committee in March that the nine-month pilot program provides seven drones for use throughout the county for case-related investigations, he said.
“The public can see every flight. Anyone can see every flight — the flight path, time up (in the air) and everything,” he said, adding that each drone will be used for specific cases, not routine patrols.
Data collected during the first six months of the program would be used to evaluate whether to continue the contract, he said.
The existing sheriff’s drones and the Flock drones would not be used for routine patrols for many reasons, including privacy issues Willis said.
Some Oakland County residents are so concerned about potential privacy violations and preserving Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, they are promoting a change.org petition called “Cancel Flock safety contracts in Oakland County, which as of Tuesday afternoon had garnered more than 2,500 signatures.
The Flock drones would be operated by a trained sheriff’s deputy. Six will be used countywide and one would be used in Pontiac. Sheriff’s deputies in Pontiac want to rein in the use of ATVs and minibikes on public streets, according to Commissioner Angela Powell, D-Pontiac.
“A lot of parents are buying them in my city, and they don’t know that they’re not legal (to use on public streets),” she said during the health and safety committee meeting, to which Willis added, “You don’t want a patrol car running through the city chasing a dirt bike or ATV.”
Commissioner Ann Erickson Gault, D-Troy, told Willis that Flock has been the target of “a lot of bad PR” largely related to reports of the company sharing data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Flock’s website states that the company does not work directly with ICE or the Department of Homeland Security.
“Communities control federal data access. ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data, unless the agencies that control their data expressly and deliberately allow it,” the company’s website states. That webpage goes on to list a number of ways Flock has set limits for accessing and searching for immigration or reproductive-related data.
Some communities in the U.S. have ended Flock partnerships after residents with privacy and protested use of the license-plate readers and drones. Others communities are forging ahead.
Last week in Macomb County, a sheriff’s drone was deployed after a high-speed police chase of a 14-year-old speeding on an E-bike ended for safety reasons. The drone tracked the teen to a Macomb Township home, where deputies were able to make an arrest.
In Lansing, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers introduced 15 bills to regulate drones under the umbrella name Securing Homeland and Infrastructure with Emerging Laws for Drones (S.H.I.E.L.D).
Willis told Oakland County commission’s public health and safety committee that Flock can’t turn data over to any third party without express permission from the sheriff’s office.
The proposed contract states, “Flock shall own all rights to ... any data input into the Flock Services ... Flock reserves the right to create and market public indexes, analysis or insights created from such data. Customer agrees that it will not share, sell, transfer, or make available any Flock Drone IP to any third party without the prior express written consent of Flock.”
MLive asked the sheriff’s office to clarify who controls Flock drone data collected for the county.
Rochester Hills resident Holli Munro remains unconvinced of police drones’ value. She’s concerned about the Flock data being hacked and about other privacy issues.
“There’s no reason the government needs to know our every move and everywhere we’re at, at any time,” she said. “The technology is not foolproof.”
She cited the 2025 arrest of a Tennessee woman, Angela Lipps. Lipps was erroneously identified as a North Dakota bank fraud suspect by a public-safety AI program. She was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marshals in July 2025, extradited to North Dakota and jailed for five months before being released on Dec. 24, 2025. Lipps lost her home, car and dog during the ordeal and has retained lawyers for a possible lawsuit.
Munro believes drones and AI will lead to more cases like Lipps’.
“Once we grant access, it will just go further and further to infringe on our rights and protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution,” she said.
The commission’s public health and safety committee unanimously approved the sheriff’s office request to consider the contract.
But the deal can’t move forward without a full commission vote, set to happen at the board’s next meeting: 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac. The full agenda is online at https://oaklandcomi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1566/files/agenda/13203.
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