Updated Feb. 24, 2026, at 3 p.m.
After months of public pressure, the city of Denver plans to stop using its network of Flock Safety cameras. Instead, city leaders hope to install a similar system operated by Axon, a competing provider of automated license plate readers.
Mayor Mike Johnston’s office announced the change on Tuesday morning.
“We’ve heard the community loud and clear and it is time to make a change," Johnston said in a press release. “Axon is among our most reliable partners and will collaborate with us on strong safeguards that protect immigrants, women seeking reproductive healthcare, and the Constitutional rights of Denverites.”
Flock has drawn intense criticism because federal agents have used the platform for immigration enforcement purposes. The company appeared to conceal the existence of a company-run program that helped federal agents search Flock records, as 9News revealed. In Denver, officials were unaware for months that local surveillance data could be searched by agencies around the nation, with few limits or protections, as Denverite reported.
Johnston’s office continues to defend the use of surveillance, saying the cameras have helped to recover more than 400 stolen cars and that they were used in 16 homicide investigations last year.
The city of Denver installed 111 solar-powered Flock cameras across the city in May 2024. But a year later, opposition to the company was building on the Denver City Council. The Johnston administration instead bypassed the council, twice extending the contract without the council’s permission by keeping its cost below a certain threshold.
The change will result in a smaller camera network for now. The city's portfolio will be reduced from 111 cameras to about 50 cameras, Johnston said in an interview, though he hopes to expand it again. The city will pay about $149,000 for a year of service from Axon.
In a statement, Flock Safety said its technology was effective in Denver.
"We hope to work with the City of Denver and DPD again in the future. In the meantime, we continue to serve more than a hundred cities across Colorado helping solve crimes and find missing persons," wrote Paris Lewbel, a spokesperson for Flock, in a statement. Lewbel said Flock's technology contributed to sharp drops in homicides and shootings in Denver.
The full city council will be asked to vote on the new contract with Axon. Axon already provides the Denver Police Department’s body-worn cameras and Tasers.
Johnston’s administration argued that the contract with Axon would go further to protect privacy and civil liberties. Among other changes, Axon does not have a feature that allows police to conduct nationwide searches.
In the interview, Johnston said data security was the main concern he heard from residents, and that he wanted to be sure data could not be accessed by federal agents like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“They also don’t have a national network or a searchable national network. It's really focused on Denver only data,” Johnston said. “So it's really just meant to be a tool for the Denver Police Department to use and won't be accessible by any federal agents or officers.”
Data would be retained for 21 days, unless it’s needed for an active investigation. And Axon will have to agree “to abide by Colorado law, including not providing access to Denver data for the purposes of civil immigration enforcement, abortion-related investigations, or any purpose not explicitly agreed to.”
Johnston was confident he could win support from the public and a majority of council members, he said.
“I mean we have been working for nine months with city council, with community members, with activists to try to figure out what the most important criteria they wanted in a future partner. And I think we've met, I think all of those requests,” he said. “They want to find a way that supports both public safety and civil rights. So I think we'll figure it out. We just won't give up until we find a solution.”
Axon sells several license-plate camera models, including both stationary and portable cameras. Axon says its system can capture license-plate numbers as well as “detailed vehicle attributes.” The company also announced plans in 2025 to integrate with Amazon’s Ring home security platform, allowing people to share footage from their home cameras with police.
Editor's note: This article was updated with comment from Mayor Mike Johnston and Flock Safety.
