CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis described an email from Flock Safety’s CEO blaming political activists for multiple cities decisions to stop using the company’s license plate reading camera system as inappropriate and “pouting.”

“People have a right to disagree and have issues with things,” Kochis told Cville Right Now. “That’s how Democracy works. That’s how this is supposed to work. We have open dialogue about issues and concerns and at the end of the day communities get to have a say on how they want to be policed. And to say that’s not okay, i think just flies in the face of our values.”

Kochis said every client of Flock received the email. He said he didn’t respond, in part because he rarely deals directly with vendors and in part because the city’s decision has already been made.

“That email was sent to every client that they had, including us,” Kochis said. “I looked at it and just, honestly, chalked it up to an unprofessional email from a venting CEO. I just ignored it, I’ll be honest.”

Charlottesville is one of a number of cities that have decided to opt out of using Flock’s ALPR cameras to help combat crimes such as car jackings or finding missing people. Opponents have expressed concerns over the possibility of outside agencies accessing the city police department’s information it gathers from Flock.

City Manager Sam Sanders announced the city’s decision during his regular report to City Council during its Dec. 15 session.

Chief Kochis respects worries over how Flock Safety’s systems could be used, or potentially misused. Kochis noted that Charlottesville’s policy during its pilot program with Flock limited access to the information, restricting it only to the city’s use with no access for other jurisdictions or entities.

But Kochis said once the community and City Council decided to end the program, there was no need for further debate.

Staunton announced earlier this month it too was abandoning Flock. The city then shared an email exchange from Dec. 8 between Flock CEO Garrett Langley and Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams in which Langley wrote, “Flock has never been hacked. Ever. Flock is CJIS compliant. Flock does not share, or resell your data. Nor have we ever. Flock adheres to the highest security standards.”

The email went on to say, “Flock is building tools to help you fight the real crime affecting communities across the country. Many activists don’t like that. Let’s call this what it is: Flock, and the law enforcement agencies we partner with, are under coordinated attack. The attacks aren’t new. You’ve been dealing with this for forever, and we’ve been dealing with this since our foundina, from the same activist groups who want to defund the police, weaken public safety, and normalize lawlessness. Now, they’re producing YouTube videos with misleading headlines. They’re also trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us.”

The city of Staunton issued a news release explaining why the city ended its relationship with Flock and referencing Langley’s message.

“Flock Safety CEO’s narrative does not reflect the city’s values,” the city statement said.

Langley did not respond to a request for comment from Cville Right Now.

The list of cities that have ended their relationships with Flock or have serious misgivings is sizeable. Flagstaff, AZ, unanimously decided to end its contract on Tuesday after outcry from the community. Cambridge, MA, issued a statement on its decision terminate its contract on Dec. 10. In Oregon, Eugene and Springfield announced their end of using Flock camera usage. A lawsuit has been filed in Norfolk, VA.  The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating Flock Safety for failure to maintain proof of liability insurance. There are other cancellations and controversies, as well. A YouTube search will pull up scores of videos regarding Flock Safety, the grand majority of which are negative.

There are reports of issues that go beyond municipalities’ use of Flock Security. 404 Media reports that data is being used by ICE. According to the Electric Frontier Foundation, documents and court records show that Texas deputies used Flock Safety’s surveillance data in an abortion investigation. Johnson County Sheriff Adam King has repeatedly denied the ALPR search was related to enforcing Texas’s abortion ban. Flock Safety called media accounts “false,” “misleading” and “clickbait.”