Thackerville police chief says department will end Flock contract

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Thackerville Police Chief Jonathan Buckaloo says his department will end its contract with Flock Safety after reviewing the agency's needs, resources, costs and benefit to residents, according to a public statement. The decision carries local interest in Cooke County, where the sheriff's office says it uses the same company's license-plate-reader technology for investigations and vehicle alerts.

Buckaloo said ending the agreement does not reduce Thackerville police's commitment to public safety. He said the department will continue reviewing law-enforcement technology while putting priority on officer relationships with residents.

Flock says its license-plate-reader cameras record plate information and vehicle characteristics, including make, color and body type. The company says its platform can notify agencies when a vehicle matches customer-created or NCIC hot lists, search partial or temporary plates and connect sightings across jurisdictions.

On its website, Flock says every search has an audit log, customers control local agency data and its FreeForm product supports natural-language AI search and alerts. The company says it has reduced its default data-retention period from 30 days to 7 days and expanded audit requirements, monitoring, multi-factor authentication and customer control over agency data sharing.

In Cooke County, the sheriff's website says the office uses Flock for searches after crimes and for real-time alerts on hot-list vehicles tied to wanted persons, stolen vehicles, catalytic-converter theft and missing-person cases.

County records show Cooke County put a Flock contract on the Commissioners Court consent agenda on Feb. 10, 2025. The agenda described high-speed vehicle license-plate-recognition cameras and equipment for the sheriff's department for crime detection and prevention.

Cooke County check registers list about $52,000 in payments to Flock Group Inc. from June 2025 through March 2026, according to county June 2025, January 2026 and March 2026 check registers. The entries covered Flock Safety LPR Flex and Flock Safety Long Range.

A Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority board transcript from July 18, 2025, listed a fiscal 2026 SB224 grant recommendation for the Cooke County Sheriff's Office. The same recommendation list included the Collinsville Police Department and Dallas Police Department.

Across the Red River, Marietta city records show the City Council held a special meeting Aug. 20, 2026, for possible action on engaging Flock Safety for license-plate-reader cameras. The minutes say Chief Harris and citizens addressed the council before members voted unanimously not to go forward with the Flock camera.

Oklahoma City has kept its Flock system. The city says its agreement began in 2023 and that the City Council on Aug. 18, 2026, renewed a contract effective through June 2027.

Flock says its annual subscription prices are custom and depend on the technology type, number of sensors, software package and coverage area.