Jack Cooper Jul 30, 2026
WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) – A local man is suing the City of Wichita over the use of Flock cameras, calling the technology unconstitutional.
As of 2024, the City of Wichita reports nearly 200 Flock cameras across the city. Police say they’re used to record license plates and vehicles to help solve crimes, but the cameras and technology used have been at the center of controversy for years, and now the city is being sued.
“This is America, and we don’t tolerate warrantless surveillance like this,” lawyer for Mason Grimmett, Sam MacRoberts, said. “The more the cameras were being put up and the more they were becoming visible, the more people were asking questions, and then at some point it hit a tipping point, and people were fed up and frustrated the more they learned about it.”
Grimmett and his legal team filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, calling the use of the cameras unconstitutional.
“Typically, when the government wants to conduct surveillance, they have to get a warrant; there has to be judicial authorization; they have to go to a judge and explain why they want to conduct surveillance, but not in this instance,” MacRoberts said.
MacRoberts added that Grimmett has been looking into AI surveillance that police use since February.
“It all kind of started when he saw the infamous Ring commercial during the Super Bowl,” MacRoberts said. “After seeing that, he started doing research and realized what was going on.”
That’s when MacRoberts says Grimmett could not believe what he was finding out about how some officers were using this technology.
“Police have already abused this technology, they’ve already showed that they can’t be trusted with it,” he said.
For example, these are just some of the cases KAKE News has covered in recent years across the state.
That’s why MacRoberts says they’re hoping to end warrantless surveillance of Flock cameras.
“Mason is not suing for money; what he’s doing is fighting back against Wichita’s warrantless ALPR Dragnet Surveillance Program,” MacRoberts said.
KAKE News reached out to the Wichita Police Department for an interview about Flock cameras and how they’re used in Wichita, and we were referred to its Flock Transparency Portal.