News · Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights council votes 4-3 to keep its Flock license plate cameras through 2028
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — The Sterling Heights City Council voted 4-3 to keep the police department's Flock Safety license plate reader cameras for two more years, WXYZ and CBS News Detroit reported. The vote came in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the end of a meeting that began Tuesday night at City Hall, 40555 Utica Road, and ran more than five and a half hours, with over three hours of public comment.
Before the vote, Police Chief Andrew Satterfield walked residents and council members through the department's safeguards and said usage would be reviewed every 30 days instead of once a year, CBS News Detroit reported. Councilman Michael Radtke voted no and proposed making officer misuse of the data a local misdemeanor; most of the council objected, and the chief said laws already cover misuse, the station reported. Speakers in the audience were split, some saying they did not trust the system and others calling it a tool police deserve.
The proposed renewal runs from December 2026 to December 2028 at $84,100 a year plus $3,000 in usage fees per camera, WCSX reported, citing the Macomb Daily. Police say 23 solar-powered cameras are running at 19 locations. The city first signed with Flock in August 2022. The contract lets the city cancel at any time "for convenience," with a one-time removal fee of $500 per unit.
The contract had been set to renew automatically in December, and the renewal was the only item on Tuesday's agenda, WXYZ reported. The council agreed to hold a public vote after opponents filled meetings this summer with concerns about privacy and how the data is shared and stored, C&G Newspapers reported.
Police Chief Andrew Satterfield has laid out new limits in a letter posted on the city's website. Officers may not use the readers for searches tied to immigration enforcement or reproductive health care. The cameras don't use facial recognition, aren't used for traffic enforcement and capture plates and vehicle images, not what happens inside cars, he wrote. Police say the data isn't shared with federal agencies, is deleted after 30 days unless tied to an investigation, and is audited monthly. Officers run fewer than 20 searches a day on average.
Ahead of the meeting, council members Henry Yanez and Robert Mijac told C&G they support renewal, and Mayor Pro Tem Liz Sierawski said she favored a one-year extension. "I just don't see a reason why we would give up the ability to be safer, to help solve crimes," Yanez said. Radtke had said he was opposed: "We should not be mass surveilling our citizens," he said. Mayor Michael Taylor said in late September that he still had "major concerns" but predicted reforms either way. Council members Barbara Ziarko and Maria Schmidt said they were undecided but had praised the cameras in July.
At least 14 southeast Michigan communities have canceled, declined to renew or paused Flock contracts, including nearby St. Clair Shores and Eastpointe.
Updated Oct. 21, 2026: The council approved the two-year Flock renewal 4-3 early Wednesday, so this story now reports the outcome. Sources: WXYZ and CBS News Detroit.
Sources:
94.7 WCSX, “Sterling Heights City Council To Vote on Renewing Flock Camera Contract,” Oct. 20, 2026, https://wcsx.com/2026/10/20/sterling-heights-city-council-to-vote-on-renewing-flock-camera-contract/
C&G Newspapers, “Sterling Heights nears Flock decision,” Oct. 2, 2026, https://www.candgnews.com/articles/government-news/sterling-heights-nears-flock-decision/
City of Sterling Heights, “City Council agenda,” Oct. 20, 2026, https://www.sterlingheights.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10202026-3110?html=true
WXYZ, “Sterling Heights City Council votes 4-3 to renew Flock contract,” Oct. 21, 2026, https://www.wxyz.com/news/sterling-heights-city-council-votes-4-3-to-renew-flock-contract
CBS News Detroit, “Sterling Heights City Council votes to renew Flock contract,” Oct. 21, 2026, https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/sterling-heights-city-council-votes-flock-contract/
Photo: Bruxton, “Flock Safety camera with solar panel.jpg,” Dec. 20, 2023, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flock_Safety_camera_with_solar_panel.jpg
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