Western North Carolina

Buncombe commissioners remove the sheriff's $290,000 forfeiture request for Fusus and Axon from their agenda On Commissioner Drew Ball's motion, seconded by Vice-Chair Martin Moore, the board removed New Business item 5 by voice vote at the start of the meeting; no reason was stated. The request, posted Sept 30, would have appropriated forfeiture fund balance for the "FY27 FUSUS/Axon Contract" and a "Camera Project at IGrant." It can return. (county video, 0:02:53; agenda and packet)

Henderson commissioners hear 14 residents oppose the Flock cameras, none in favor Seventeen residents spoke at informal public comment; fourteen opposed the cameras, none spoke for them, and three raised other subjects. Chair Bill Lapsley, closing the period: "The board certainly hears you, and we will be discussing it amongst ourselves to see how we as a board want to proceed ... I know we'll certainly be public with our discussions on the matter." No other commissioner, the county manager, or the sheriff responded on the substance, and the subject was not raised again in the meeting (county recording, 0:12:14 to 0:53:14). No date was set.

Rutherford commissioners receive a Flock removal petition and take no action Two residents spoke against the county's Flock cameras, one presenting a petition for their removal on Fourth Amendment grounds. The board thanked each speaker and moved directly to the consent agenda; no discussion, no motion, no vote (county recording, 0:18:20 to 0:24:42). The petition's count of 32 to 33 county cameras is the petition's own estimate (WNCW, Aug 28); the sheriff's February 2025 pitch was for 8. No county figure is on the record.

Brevard police chief withdraws the request for 3 Axon plate readers At the start of the council meeting, Police Chief Christy Wentzell withdrew the department's request for the three plate readers: "We asked for the community's voice and they gave it to us." She told council: "my belief in the value of the technology has not changed. But what has changed is my belief in that this is the right time for Brevard to move forward with it," and "We will continue moving forward with the tasers and the bodyworn cameras, but not the ALPR portion." Council then voted 3 to 2 to approve a modified agenda without the item. The cameras had been offered at no charge inside the taser and body-camera purchase, which remains pending (Transylvania Times, Sept 8). (city recording, 0:05:50 to 0:11:17).

Brevard police hold a public session on the Axon plate-reader offer Brevard PD and city staff took questions at the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center, the session the Public Safety Committee recommended in July with council members Dean Lytle ("hot button") and Aaron Baker pushing for it. The city has since posted its audio recording and the chief's slides. On the recording the chief said Axon "cannot sell the data," that "automatic sharing is not enabled," that sharing with another agency is "theoretically, yes ... case-by-case," and that the cameras "have those capabilities" for live video to a command center; City Attorney Mac McKellar said the courts have found the cameras legal in criminal cases "but every case that I read also has a further warning ... they could become more pervasive" (0:05:12 to 1:31:11).

Asheville council votes 5 to 2 to end the Flock contract Roney moves, Turner seconds; Mosley and Smith vote no. Full write-up: 2026-08-25 City Council.

Transylvania commissioners ask the sheriff to explain his Flock cameras After residents spoke at public comment, Vice Chair Larry Chapman asked that the sheriff come explain how his office uses the cameras and put the count at about 14; a second commissioner said the subject had never come before the board. The board's next meeting falls after Brevard's vote (the county's meeting video, 3:09:48 and 3:16:40; detail below).

Asheville posts the Flock termination resolution for a full council vote The Flock resolution is New Business item VI.A for August 25, not consent. Its seven sections direct the manager to terminate and "immediately request that Flock remove their hardware," bar city employees from searching the city's Flock data, keep existing data "in accordance with applicable law," bar linking it to facial recognition, order a ten-item policy review with "an independent civil-liberties policy reviewer," and freeze new Flock agreements during the review. Axon is not mentioned. (resolution · agenda · the scorecard)

Boone police cut Flock data sharing from over 1,000 agencies to 41 Boone PD's sharing list, over 1,000 agencies before the May resolution, is down to 41. (Watauga Democrat, Aug 26)

Asheville mayor presents the Flock termination resolution at the agenda briefing At the agenda briefing for the Aug 25 meeting, Manheimer presents the actual resolution and discloses two facts: Flock changed its policy to require 10 cameras minimum for system access, which ends the "keep one camera" plan, and removal requires termination because "the cameras are technically not ours. They're Flock's." A staff memo read aloud by Roney says the city is "expanding and integrating Axon's automated license plate reader capabilities" while Flock winds down, and the mayor confirms Axon stationary readers are "in the pipeline." Full write-up: 2026-08-20 Agenda Briefing.

Records requests release four drafts of Asheville's intelligence center policy Seven records land via two public records requests shared by Sunshine Labs' Patrick Conant: four drafts of Policy 1703 (facial recognition ban included, but only from the third draft on; a remote-access ban and per-shift hotlist review deleted along the way), the private policy workgroup's meeting notes, and Axon emails showing the contract went for signature July 16, a never-announced second contract for 20 in-car plate readers, and the city's opt-out from Axon's default data program. The full analysis: The RTIC Policy.

Asheville mayor calls for a vote to end the Flock contract Mid-Week of Action, two days after Sage Turner documented that the city's Flock cameras were still up despite her vote's conditions, Mayor Manheimer issues a statement calling for a vote at the August 25 council meeting to authorize city manager D.K. Wesley to terminate the Flock contract: "I have heard clearly from Asheville residents, and I'm calling on Asheville to turn off the Flock cameras and remove them, which requires terminating the Flock contract." She says a moratorium wouldn't be enough because "our contract does not allow for the removal of the technology unless we terminate the contract," and asks for a transparent policy on handling and deleting the data already collected. The statement says nothing about APD's Flock search accounts, the county's cameras, or the Axon contract; see Getting Flock Out for what a full exit requires, and note it stays a statement until council votes. That same morning, hours before the announcement, APD had publicized using Flock cameras to identify suspects in a West Asheville paintball assault case. (WLOS · 828newsnow · WLOS, paintball)

Asheville groups join the national Week of Action against plate readers Asheville joins the DeFlock National Week of Action Against ALPRs: a West Asheville kickoff potluck, an online panel, and a Friday celebration at Cooperative Coffee. (CAMS, DeFlock)

Henderson County Flock petition passes 2,000 signatures 937 signatures on Aug 10, 1,000+ by Aug 14, 2,071 by Aug 17 (the defund petition). Getting Flock Out · Communities that ended or limited camera contracts

Jackson County sheriff defends the Flock cameras at a commission work session The sheriff called the cameras a "force multiplier" and cited no documented misuse; commissioners Michael Jennings and Todd Bryson raised concerns. No vote taken, none scheduled (Smoky Mountain News). Meeting record

County resident addresses Henderson commissioners on the sheriff's Flock cameras A county resident spoke to the board in support of the removal petition (WLOS). Getting Flock Out

Western Carolina University keeps plate-reader hits 365 days; state law caps retention at 90 The university's Genetec parking reader keeps "hits" for 365 days; state law caps plate-reader data at 90 days (G.S. 20-183.32(a)) (DeFlockILM tracker).

Macon's Flock removal holds; the sheriff says he respects the decision No reinstatement effort, and no crime-spike claims. Sheriff Holbrooks says he "respects the decision" while still defending the tool.

Madison residents hold a Week of Action event on plate readers "Popsicles for Privacy," organized with Madison for Privacy. (Atlanta Press Collective)

Boone: App State cuts its Flock cameras from the national network App State cuts its cameras' national network access after the numbers come back: searched roughly 1.5 million times in three months, overwhelmingly by out-of-state agencies. Access restricted to the SBI and Watauga County agencies.

Flock and Axon questions reach boards in four WNC counties Henderson County's removal campaign passes 1,000 petition signatures and Sheriff Griffin publishes a written defense with checkable claims; Brevard schedules a Sept 1 public session on Axon's offer of three free fixed plate readers; Jackson County commissioners hear the sheriff's numbers (1.19 million reads a month from four cameras) while the Sylva Herald's records requests go unanswered; and App State, after finding its cameras were searched 1.5 million times in three months, mostly from out of state, cuts national network access while Boone PD cuts sharing to 41 agencies. County pages: Henderson County · Transylvania County · Jackson County · Watauga County.

Macon sheriff's office loses access to all 16 Flock cameras MCSO lost access to all 16 cameras ("no one has access now"); the four school cameras entered limbo, deferred to school leaders who say neither MCSO nor Flock has contacted them.

Macon commissioners vote 5 to 0 to end the county's Flock contract County commissioners vote 5 to 0 to end their $47,000 Flock contract; 12 cameras come down. The push came largely from Republican residents and officials. See Western North Carolina and the state. (Smoky Mountain News) Meeting record

Jackson County records show 1.19 million plate reads and 563 searches in a month 1,190,043 vehicle reads · 563 searches · 4,652 hotlist hits: 99.95 percent of reads were not searched; data shared with 200 in-state agencies (Sylva Herald, "What the FLOCK?" · Smoky Mountain News).

Asheville residents' group holds a surveillance-awareness event CAMS throws a surveillance-awareness social at DayTrip: DJ sets and a Q&A with Benn Jordan (the researcher whose Flock investigations reached national press) plus Kim Roney, Colonel Panic, and Patrick Conant. (Sunshine Labs)

Boone council pauses Flock expansion and orders a public transparency portal Boone Town Council, on a resolution brought by Mayor Dalton George after constituent contacts, pauses Flock expansion and orders a public transparency portal: camera locations, usage policies, monthly query data. (Watauga Democrat)

Buncombe County releases 28 months of the sheriff's Fusus camera access log One day after an anonymous public records request, Buncombe County produces 28 months of the Sheriff's Office's Fusus access log, 337,838 entries, and withholds eight columns including every timestamp under G.S. 132-1.4 (MuckRock). The released columns show 58 percent of camera viewing on public housing and 95 to 99 percent of it live. Analyzed August 2026: Buncombe County Sheriff's Office Fusus access log, 2024 to 2026.

Asheville council pulls the intelligence center item from the consent agenda The RTIC item is pulled from consent "to create some awareness"; residents speak against it for an hour. (The People Who Showed Up)

Asheville residents' group holds a public teach-in on the intelligence center Three days before the council vote, SASSI (Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure) holds "You Are Being Watched: An Introduction to Police Surveillance in Buncombe County" at Firestorm Books. (SASSI)

Residents raise Fourth Amendment objections to Flock at Madison commissioners Madison for Privacy brought Fourth Amendment objections to the commissioners meeting; the comments are on tape (Madison County Government on YouTube).

Asheville police brief the city council on plate readers for the first time First briefing to council, requested by Kim Roney after she read about the cameras in the news: mobile LPRs running ~11 months, stationary cameras in the community "approximately two years," access to "over 177,000 cameras across the Eastern US"; "and we've had that access." Full write-up: 2025-03-07 Agenda Briefing.

Rutherford commissioners hear the sheriff's 8-camera Flock pitch, take no vote Sheriff Aaron Ellenburg (pro-Flock) pitched an 8-camera network (6 fixed, 2 portable) to commissioners; per a summary of the meeting, a sheriff's detective's selling point was the network itself: "If you get the 8, you have access to the nationwide database." Commissioners asked about cost, bandwidth, and DOT permits; no vote was taken, then or since (meeting summary). The current county-owned count is unresolved across conflicting reports, a records-request target.