East Cobb residents who raised privacy concerns about Flock Safety surveillance cameras now have a date to make their case directly to the county's top cop.
Cobb County Police Chief Dan Ferrell has scheduled four community town halls on the license plate reader technology, including one Monday, Aug. 31, at Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, 2051 Lower Roswell Road. The schedule was posted on the county's public engagement page Thursday, Aug. 13.
The announcement follows weeks of resident pushback at budget hearings and comes as Flock Safety faces national scrutiny over misuse of its camera systems by law enforcement officers.
Four sessions across the county
The full schedule, per the county notice:
- Thursday, Aug. 27 — Milford Recreation Center, 675 Smyrna Powder Springs Road, Marietta
- Monday, Aug. 31 — Sewell Mill Library, 2051 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
- Tuesday, Sept. 1 — West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs
- Tuesday, Sept. 15 — North Cobb Senior Center, 3900 S. Main Street, Acworth
Start times were not listed in the county notice.
Why it matters now
Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that scan and record plates of all passing vehicles. The data can be stored and shared with hundreds of external law enforcement agencies.
A Washington Post investigation published Aug. 2 found at least 50 officers nationwide had been charged with or accused of misusing Flock and similar systems, including for stalking. Closer to home, multiple Georgia officers have been fired and arrested in summer 2026 for misusing Flock databases, including DeKalb County Sgt. Kabiru Salawu, charged with violation of oath of office and misuse of license plate data.
On Aug. 13, the same day the Cobb town halls were announced, Flock Safety said it would cut its default data retention from 30 days to seven days and require automated audits for all law enforcement customers by the end of 2026.
Cobb County has a deep relationship with the company. Commission Chair Lisa Cupid called the county an "early partner" with Flock Safety at an April 2025 ribbon cutting for the company's 97,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Smyrna.
As we reported Aug. 6, Cupid announced the town halls were coming but no dates had been set. Chief Ferrell's schedule now gives residents a concrete opportunity to weigh in.
The next regular Board of Commissioners meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta.
