‘It’s ridiculous’: Pierce County sheriff shuts down Flock cameras after new WA law

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed a new law Monday that sets guardrails for the use of automated license plate readers throughout the state.

The law’s passage came after concerns that federal immigration authorities are tapping into data from automated license plate readers to aid their searches. The bill was mostly opposed by law enforcement but supported by immigration advocates.

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank, one of the most vocal opponents against the legislation, responded to the new state law by deactivating his entire automatic license plate reader system, claiming it’s now useless.

“We could be driving past stolen cars, cars that have a suspect wanted for homicide,” Swank told KIRO Newsradio. “Those cameras help us differentiate those cars, the bad guys, from the good guys, and we won’t be able to use that tool anymore.”

Flock cameras use license plate recognition to flag stolen cars, track vehicles

Flock cameras, which use automated license plate recognition, are broadly used by law enforcement in static cameras and police cars to flag stolen cars or track vehicles associated with a crime. The bill limits data retention for automated license plate recognition for 21 days. The cameras additionally can’t be used near protected places like schools or places of worship.

Ferguson said the rules are necessary to protect community privacy.

“This is also about Washington’s constitution and the fact that we need to respect the privacy of all individuals anytime we take on technology, particularly surveillance technology,” Ferguson said.

Pierce County sheriff argues 500-foot restriction is impossible to enforce

But Swank argued that the ban on using cameras near protected places like schools and hospitals is impossible to comply with because in-car cameras can’t be turned off manually.

“It’s not possible to do it manually,” Swank said. “Can you imagine this? You’re running code, lights, and a siren to a shooting, and then you go, ‘Oh my gosh, I gotta remember to turn off the camera here, because I’m going to get close to within 500 feet of a school on my way to the school shooting or whatever,’ right? I mean, no, it’s, it’s ridiculous.”

Advocates, including the bill’s sponsor, Senator Yasmin Trudeau, claim that the new law prevents federal law enforcement from targeting sensitive groups.

“This is also about Washington state’s constitution and the fact that we need to respect the privacy of all individuals anytime we take on technology, particularly surveillance technology,” Trudeau said.

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest

Read more of Jillian Raftery’s stories here.