Commission rejects pause
Flock cameras remain active as county weighs legal risks
Anderson County Sheriff Russell Barker watches for the results, also displayed above him, of a vote for whether or not to keep the county’s two working Flock cameras running. At left is Commissioner Shannon Gray. (photo:Ben Pounds )
The County Commission voted 9-6 on Monday (Oct. 19) against a proposal to pause the use of the county’s two functioning Flock cameras.
The vote means the cameras will remain in use for now, despite questions about the contract’s validity.
The county’s Budget Committee will hear from Law Director James Brooks on Thursday, Nov. 5, about whether the county could face legal action from Flock if it does not ratify the contract, and what that action might entail.
The meeting will take place in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
Brooks has said the contract renewal, executed by an Anderson County Sheriff’s Office operations captain on Dec. 20, 2023, had not been reviewed by the Budget Committee or approved by the County Commission.
“As to the reasoning behind that, I just don’t know,” Brooks told The Courier News. “I wasn’t here then.”
The county approved its original contract with Flock Group Inc. on June 15, 2020, for an initial 24-month term with a 12-month renewal, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank stated in a memo. The disputed extension, executed Dec. 20, 2023, was for an additional 24 months.
Commissioner Tracy Wandell made the failed motion Oct. 19 to pause the cameras’ use, and Commissioner Steven Verran seconded it.
Joining them in voting for the pause were Commissioners Jeff Pack, Tim Isbel, Robert McKamey and Ebony Capshaw.
Voting against the pause were Commissioners Shain Vowell, Jawrell Cook, Michael Foster, Shelly Vandagriff, Chad McNabb, Sharon Bourgeois Capshaw, Denise Palmer, Aaron Wells and Shannon Gray.
A District 8 seat remains vacant.
Pack said he supported pausing the cameras even though he generally supports their use. His concern was the lack of a valid contract between Flock and the county.
“I don’t think it’s good business,” he said.
Several commissioners, including McNabb, questioned whether the County Commission had the authority to direct the Sheriff’s Office to pause the cameras or whether doing so would be appropriate.
“I don’t know if this body needs to be telling the Sheriff’s Department what they can or can’t do,” McNabb said.
“They’re paid up until the end of the year anyway,” said Vowell, who also serves as a public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.
The two cameras still operating are among four included in the contract.
Sheriff Russell Barker said the county is still paying for all four.
Vandals damaged two Sheriff’s Office cameras: a mobile unit and one at the intersection of Raccoon Valley Road and Clinton Highway.
The county’s contract dispute does not affect Flock cameras operated by other local governments, including those used by the Oak Ridge and Clinton police departments.