Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple surprised supervisors yesterday when he announced he had directed his staff not to renew a contract with Flock Safety.
While the decision does not affect Maricopa’s more than 40 Flock cameras, but it adds a new chapter to the ongoing debate over privacy and surveillance technology in Pinal County.
Teeple announced the decision during Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, saying his concerns stemmed from the company’s expanding artificial intelligence capabilities and potential Fourth Amendment implications.
He specified the decision applies only to Pinal County Sheriff’s Office cameras operated in unincorporated parts of the county and San Tan Valley. The contract expires Sept. 28.
“I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, and I believe the latest cameras may be capable of violating citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights,” he said in a statement today. “In order to put a GPS tracker on a vehicle, my deputies need a warrant. AI pattern recognition technology and facial recognition technology are pushing that boundary.”
Teeple said Flock did not provide satisfactory answers after PCSO raised those concerns with the company.
Drawing a line
Teeple was careful to distinguish between automatic license plate readers and what he described as Flock’s newer AI capabilities.
“Automatic license plate readers help solve crimes, catch criminals and find missing people,” he said. “Technology that is limited to reading license plates is a great tool.”
That position is consistent with comments Teeple made during a May 2025 meeting with the Arizona Republican Assembly’s Northwest Pinal County Chapter, when he praised Flock cameras for helping deputies investigate smuggling cases and locate vehicles tied to Silver and AMBER Alerts.
“Those cameras enhance public safety,” he said at the time. “All the Flock cameras do is just record traffic that goes by.”
Maricopa’s response
In a statement to InMaricopa, Maricopa Police Department said Teeple’s decision “does not directly affect” the city’s policy or its agreement with Flock Safety. The city began installing its 40-something automated license-plate reading cameras in 2019.
The department said it has prioritized transparency by publishing a frequently asked questions page explaining how the camera system works, how data is stored and what privacy safeguards are in place. They also pointed to investigations in which the cameras helped identify suspects, locate vehicles and solve crimes.
The statement did not directly address Teeple’s concerns about AI, facial recognition or potential Fourth Amendment implications, which InMaricopa asked about.
“The Maricopa Police Department understands the high expectations our residents and City leadership have for public safety,” the statement read. “We remain committed to using this technology responsibly, transparently and in full compliance with applicable laws and policies.”
MPD added they welcome “thoughtful dialogue with community members.”
Growing concerns
This decision also comes at a time when public support for Flock cameras has become more divided. About 41% of InMaricopa readers in July said they opposed the city’s use of the cameras, up from 28% in a 2023 poll.
Supervisor Jeff Serdy echoed Teeple’s concerns with the facial recognition technology and said he’s heard concerns from residents.
“If the people don’t want it, I feel we’re under obligation to do what the people want. We don’t necessarily know better than the people,” he said.
Vice Mayor Vincent Manfredi said he shared those concerns.
“When law enforcement begins to push for removal, it makes sense to not approve any expansion or renewals. In fact, I want to see what we need to do as next steps to outright cancel,” he said.
Vincent Manfredi is the owner of InMaricopa.
21 Responses
I’m thrilled to read that Teeple defends the Constitution, unlike a past Sheriff who believed he was above everything except God.
Agreed. Defending the Constitution is more important than ever these days.
This is referring to the American Sheriff Foundation, for which that sheriff got into big trouble over “fibs”; it lost its nonprofit status and was dissolved. BUT ITS CHARTER DEFINITELY PROVES THE POINT that sheriffs were the top of the food chain, in his opinion.
JFC I knew we had Flock cameras in town, but mothereffing FORTY OF THEM?! This is repulsive.
Who owns the data? Not Maricopa PD. Flock Systems has massive amounts of data on everyone in Maricopa. They control how it is collected and used and they sell it to Maricopa PD and anyone else they deem qualified ($$$). We the people and Maricopa PD do not control the data of our lives nor can we affect policy at Flock Systems. Without that we have no safeguards, and the contracts need to end until we have a say in who our lives belong to.
B has nailed it here. 100% agree.
Bothers me that everybody is apparently a suspect until the one they’re pursuing is caught.Kind of like everybody gets timeout because of a few.And to think that MPD had allowed years and years of crime investigations to be dropped by a Captain and seems there was no checks and balances with that…..not good.Whoever is responsible for this tool should have their John Hancock all over it.
To all of the “hair on fire” people scared of the flock cameras, give up your cell phones. You would not and won’t.
Face it, we are living in an electronic concentration camp the world over and have been for years….
To the “Cliff Clavin” of inMaricopa.com… thanks for the reminder. We all recognize and validate how smart you are. Yes, you are a smart boy! Yes, you are!
What would we do without you? Oh, wait… we just went without you for like a year… let’s get back to that…
Big difference between Flock and cell phones! The location data captured by cell phones requires a warrant and due process for law enforcement to access specific data provided by the cell service provider; flock just takes a paid subscription for whatever search they choose in the data base.
There is a big difference between the two, your cell phone tracks you all day everyday whether it is on or off. “Requires a warrant to access specific data”…right, that however does not prevent the dark web from finding and having your data…you must be related to BK, both of you are dumber than a box of rocks…
TAB appears to be a one-trick hoe… “I’m smarter than you”… though he rarely quantifies it.
Is he well-educated? Should we be addressing him as “Dr. TAB”? Did he pass the bar?
Maybe he’s as smart as he thinks he is and maybe he isn’t… but if all he has to offer is being a simple asshole, who gives a 💩?
Well yes, in fact I do have a PHD…a Public High School Degree…you overly “educated” 💩head….😆
“Public High School Degree”?
OK, yeah, that tracks… that explains the overcompensating and the chip on your shoulder… and so many other things…
“I’m smarter than doctors and lawyers and everyone else with a college degree… I just, you know, didn’t do the work… but I SWEAR that I’m smarter!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p97_A7bGsUU
Make no mistake. There is no debate. We The People have spoken loudly and clearly. And are being ignored. Not acceptable. And thus sheriff wants to be elected again and he thinks this nonsense will work. He says he ended the contract and he’s doing what too many others are doing. He’s gonna switch to Axon. Same tech. Different name. We’re being played. Fear. Fear of privacy violations. Fear of diminishing our rights. These are incorrect responses. Thus is because anger has systemically been dumbed out of you. Wake up! Rage!
Wake Up is one of Rage’s best songs, I agree!
https://youtu.be/4lzqUe1Qfec?is=7lLaIMAUtEz85VAn
There’s probably cop’s wacking off to people.
Hello everyone, I am a resident of maricopa in Pinal county. I have made a petition on change.org about the issues and concerns on flock cameras. If you have the time please voice your own concerns and help others find this as every name counts. My petition has been sent to all members of council but I am still waiting for a response. I am almost up to 100 names I am hoping with more they will no longer be able to ignore our voices. I do agree with public safety however in this situation it seems everywhere wasn’t really told these cameras were going up until they were. However more and more people are noticing them, now it comes out that people in charge of them and the cameras themselves are not being used as they were meant too.
What are the safeguards that are in place to ensure that rogue officers don’t cross the line into snooping on their friends, family, ex’s, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc…? Will the city of Maricopa be publishing a list of what inquiries the police are making into this massive collection of data? As a person who personally worked extensively in law enforcement professional standards and knows firsthand the shocking quantity of misconduct investigations into city of Maricopa’s peace officers since the agency was founded; I am certain there is a Maricopa police officer who is abusing some type of data system for personal reasons. Statistically speaking it’s an almost certainty, so why enhance the government’s ability to surveil citizens, to know when we get up in the morning, when we go to work, where we work, where we shop, who’s houses we visit, who rides in our car, who stops by our house, who my family members are, who my friends are, what doctors I visit (which can be used to identify potential health problems that you may want to keep private), the combining of data points through a variety of systems has created a fairly comprehensive method of surveilling the public. I would know, I spent years teaching Arizona law enforcement how to use open-source intelligence to their advantage, and I can assure you, this level of mass surveillance is dangerous and often times gets innocent people caught up in police investigations, and sometimes falsely accused of crimes.
Let’s not ignore the other smart poles popping up in every neighborhood and strategic street corner.Read up on them as well.The data is NOT owned or controlled by our tax dollars.These are placed and leased by the city.They are capable of very intrusive information gathering as well……..why??