Reynoldsburg ends use of Flock license-plate cameras after misuse concerns

Reynoldsburg stopped using its Flock Safety automated license-plate readers at noon Wednesday and plans to remove the cameras, ending a surveillance program that had come under scrutiny after allegations that two former police officers used it for personal searches.

Mayor Joe Begeny said the city would discontinue the system “effective immediately.” All of the cameras were expected to be covered with bags by Friday, pending removal by Flock, WOSU reported. Flock owns the devices.

“Balancing the safety benefits of emerging technology with public trust and concerns about potential or actual misuse is never easy,” Begeny said in a statement published by WSYX. “However, I believe now is the time to move on.”

WSYX reported that the city notified Flock it had terminated its contract. The city’s termination letter and Flock’s response were not publicly available Wednesday.

Allegations of personal searches

The decision follows investigations involving former Reynoldsburg officers Mark Nichols II and Alissa Birkhimer. Internal-affairs records reviewed by local news organizations said Nichols made 47 unauthorized searches for non-law-enforcement purposes. Birkhimer searched one license plate 53 times, including 51 searches from January through June, 10TV reported.

According to WSYX’s account of the records, 46 of Nichols’ searches involved a former domestic partner’s vehicle. A deputy chief sustained the allegation that Nichols violated policy by using the system for personal reasons. The released material concerning Birkhimer showed the searches but did not include a completed internal-affairs report or final finding.

Nichols resigned July 13 before a scheduled interview, and Birkhimer resigned July 16, one day before her scheduled interview, WOSU reported. Begeny did not say the two cases were the sole reason for ending the system. He said the decision should not be viewed as a reflection on the officers and police leaders now serving the city.

A system praised for recoveries, questioned over access

Reynoldsburg began with a 30-day Flock trial in 2022 and later entered what city officials described as a five-year agreement in 2023. At a July 13 City Council meeting, officials presented the cameras as a productive policing tool while acknowledging failures in oversight.

Police Chief Curtis Baker told council that alerts had contributed to about 40 apprehensions in 2026 and said stolen-vehicle recoveries had risen from one or two a month before Flock to roughly one every week or two. “With 100% certainty, these cameras have saved lives,” Baker said, according to the official meeting minutes.

The same minutes record Begeny saying the police department had initially denied nationwide access to its system, but that access was restored sometime in 2023 without the city’s knowledge. It was shut off in April 2026. The city referred concerns about potential officer policy violations to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The police department’s automated license-plate-reader policy prohibited use for personal reasons and said Flock purged collected data after 30 days. The cameras capture license plates and vehicle characteristics, allowing police to search images and receive alerts tied to vehicles of interest.

Residents pressed council in July to disable, cancel or decline to renew the system, while others urged the city to preserve it with stronger accountability. No council vote on Flock was recorded in the minutes reviewed from those meetings.

Reynoldsburg now joins other central Ohio communities reconsidering the technology amid concerns about privacy, data sharing and misuse. For Reynoldsburg, Begeny said, those concerns ultimately outweighed the system’s safety benefits.