Kettering University student sues Genesee County, alleges they withheld records on Flock cameras

Joshua Tewolde, a student at Kettering University in Flint, has filed a lawsuit against Genesee County, alleging that the county illegally withheld records in a Freedom of Information Act request for information on Flock automated license plate reader cameras in the county.

The records requested under FOIA, according to the complaint and accompanying records, included “records governing the County’s contractual relationship with Flock Group,” audit and search logs for the county’s Flock system, the county’s policies “governing Flock technology and data, data sharing, and public disclosure of data,” and the locations of county-contracted Flock cameras. He also requested all of the license plate reader records for his own vehicle, as well as prior FOIA records relating to Flock. 

“I submitted these FOIA requests because I wanted to understand how surveillance technology is being used in my community,” Tewolde, who is represented by lawyers from the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, part of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank, said. 

“The public deserves access to basic information about government surveillance, especially when it involves technology that can track people’s movements. This lawsuit is about transparency and accountability, so citizens can have an informed conversation about the balance between public safety and privacy,” Tewolde said.

The county did provide responsive records to two parts of Tewolde’s FOIA: the portion relating to contracts between the county and Flock, and some records relating to prior Flock-related FOIA Requests. 

“The County incorrectly disclaimed ownership of public records which it must release and incorrectly applied the exemption applicable to law enforcement investigative records,” the complaint, filed Aug. 18 in the Genesee County Circuit Court, states.

That specific portion of the complaint relates to the county’s response to Tewolde’s FOIA, which specifically states that, though the sheriff’s office has a contract with this company and can access the system, the “data within it does not belong to this public body, i.e., Genesee County.”

The contract between the county and Flock, however, does indicate that Genesee County is the owner of the data collected by the city’s license-plate reader system. 

“Under the plain language of the County’s contract with Flock, the County retains legal ownership of any data it shares with Flock,” the complaint states. “This expressly includes any footage captured by Flock cameras whether owned by the County or provided to the County by Flock.”

Tewolde’s Mackinac Center lawyers have argued that the broader question at the center of the lawsuit is whether government agencies can avoid Michigan FOIA obligations by routing surveillance operations through private vendors. 

Jared Field, the director of communications for the county, declined to comment on the lawsuit to Michigan Advance, writing, “Genesee County is aware of the complaint. As a matter of practice, the County does not comment on the specifics of a pending litigation. The County will respond to the complaint through the appropriate legal processes.”