‘Put regulations in place before we unleash the technology’: KIRO hosts weigh in as Bonney Lake turns Flock cameras back on

Bonney Lake’s 22 Flock license plate cameras are back on after being shut down in December over privacy concerns, and a Texas case involving abortion surveillance is reshaping how KIRO Newsradio hosts think about the technology.

The cameras were reactivated Aug. 31 after the city’s police chief waited for a new Washington law, SB 6002, to take effect. Signed in March, the law limits searches to active investigations involving felonies, missing persons, vehicle theft and other specified crimes. Data can only be kept for 21 days and cannot be used for immigration enforcement.

Bonney Lake Police Chief Mark Berry told The News Tribune the cameras have already helped with cases involving sexual assault, child pornography and a hit-and-run.

The Texas case that changed Angela’s mind

KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell had previously been firmly in the pro-camera camp, but a report from 404 Media made her rethink the issue.

In May 2025, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Texas searched more than 83,000 Flock cameras nationwide — including cameras in Washington — to track a woman who allegedly self-administered an abortion. Her abusive ex-boyfriend had contacted police, claiming concern for her well-being.

“My perception of this was that if there was a crime, they would look at that particular camera and figure out the license plate,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “But in this case, they could literally just type in her license plate and see everywhere that she’s been.”

Angela pointed out the tool, made by Axon, also drafts police reports using body camera audio, and that the scope of the search changed her position.

“My opinion has evolved,” Angela said. “I like the use of the technology, but I think there should be strict limits around it.”

She suggested a tiered access model, similar to how medical records work, where only certain officers with specific clearance could run searches.

Dever says the regulations should come before the cameras

KIRO fill-in host Jim Dever said the Bonney Lake case highlights a pattern he’s been frustrated by for years.

“This goes back to a running theme of something I just keep shouting about, which is, can we please put the regulations in place before we unleash the technology?” Dever said.

He credited Bonney Lake for adding safeguards but questioned why those guardrails didn’t exist before the cameras went up in the first place.

“It’s not the technology that’s evil,” Dever said. “It’s the same thing with AI. We need to use it in a way that it can benefit all of us and protect all of us.”

Andrew pushes back on Flock’s claims

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier noted that Flock specifically told law enforcement agencies the data would be stored locally and accessed only under strict conditions, but the Texas case proved otherwise.

“When they sold this technology to cities around our state, around the U.S., they specifically told people ways that it would be used that were not true,” he said.

Andrew added that he had spoken with Steve Strachan, who heads the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, and was told the data would only be accessed locally.

“And then like six months later, 404 comes out and is like, ‘Hey, sheriffs in Texas are searching Washington cameras to find a lady who allegedly self-administered an abortion,'” Andrew said.

He also pointed to ICE accessing the data by going through friendly local jurisdictions — a workaround the new Washington law is designed to close.

“The safeguards that are allegedly in place with technology often don’t exist, or there’s a way around it that we can’t catch up with legislatively,” Andrew said.

Angela: ‘We’re going to constantly be catching up’

Angela believes the fundamental problem is that tech companies move faster than governments can regulate.

“Tech companies move fast. They’re constantly unveiling new things, and then we’re trying to grapple with, ‘OK, how do we regulate this?'” she said. “We’re going to constantly be kind of catching up and being behind.”

Dever noted neither Congress nor state legislatures have set meaningful parameters for AI-powered surveillance tools.

“Nobody’s ever said, ‘Here are the parameters that we need to follow if we’re going to use this technology,'” he said. “In fact, the federal government has tried to keep the states from regulating AI in any sort of way. So it’s just the Wild West.”

Angela’s final stance was that she no longer opposes the cameras but believes strict regulations must be in place before they’re deployed.

“I’m not opposed to them, but I think we have to have strict regulations in place before we just unleash it,” she said. “And it sounds like we already unleashed it anyway, and now we’re rolling back.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to roll it back once it’s already out there,” Jim responded.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.