The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun.
Is a conflict of interest acceptable for your “safety”?
That’s the question at hand because at the July 21, 2026, Pinellas Board of Commissioners’ meeting, Commissioner Brian Scott asked County Administrator Barry Burton for information regarding the use of Automatic License Plate Readers or ALPRs, commonly known as “Flock” cameras, across the county.
Examining the Documents Behind the Policy
Two of the documents the Commissioners received were authored by the “Major County Sheriffs of America” (MCSA). One document is titled “Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Technology Myths vs. Facts,” and the other is “Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Technology Judicial Rejection of Fourth Amendment Challenges.
The information in the two MCSA documents matches what Sheriff Gualtieri presented in a press briefing on ALPRs on September 2, 2026. The format of the document addressing the judicial challenges appears to be taken directly from the Flock Safety website. That makes sense when you learn that Sheriff Gualtieri is the President of the MCSA and Flock Safety is a “Sheriff Level” (Highest) corporate partner.
When Objective Data Comes With Strings Attached
The Pinellas County Commissioners relied on County Administrator Barry Burton to provide objective information to study and formulate their questions for Sheriff Gualtieri. Instead, they received documentation from a law enforcement organization that receives money from Flock. When does it become a conflict of interest to use documentation from an organization in which the Sheriff is president, and the manufacturer the commission may vote to eliminate from use wrote the talking points?
The Commissioners have a work session scheduled for October 8, 2026, with Sheriff Bob Gualtieri to learn about using Flock cameras on Pinellas County roads. The County’s Intergovernmental Liaison will tentatively provide the Commissioners with the requested documentation.
Sheriffs from fifteen Florida counties also belong to MCSA. How many of them handed the same documents to their Boards of Commissioners? How many Commissioners in Florida already trusted the information without knowing that Flock is a partner to the organization that wrote it?
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun.
