Moorhead joins West Fargo in replacing Flock with Axon

Matt Henson / WDAY By Matt Henson Today at 10:12 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? MOORHEAD — Another police department in the metro is getting rid of Flock cameras. Moorhead police have confirmed they're switching to Axon for their automatic license plate readers. It comes days after West Fargo police announced it's making a similar transition. ADVERTISEMENT Both departments say the switch has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding Flock. Moorhead Police Chief Chris Helmick said the decision to switch providers had nothing to do with community backlash but provided an opportunity to consolidate technology under one vendor. Axon is the provider for the department's body and dash cameras. Contributed / Axon "I don't think one company is better or worse than the other," said Barry Nelson of the Faith & Conviction Coalition. Nelson and the Faith & Conviction Coalition are responsible for "de-Flock" protests held throughout the metro in recent months. The new cameras do not change their concerns. "Our concern still is with the transparency, the oversight, the regulation of how data is collected and how it is stored and how it is used," Nelson said. Cameras a useful tool, chief says In a statement, Helmick said he's seen firsthand the value of having the technology. It was used to track down the stolen Honor Flight trailer this summer. "We will continue to have strict controls in place ... (they) are only used for legitimate law enforcement purposes," part of the statement read. ADVERTISEMENT He said the main drivers of switching from eight Flock cameras to eight Axon cameras were concerns with Flock's service and some concerns about equipment maintenance. That was also a factor with West Fargo. "I think Flock, as most people have seen, Flock had an unexpected hardship come upon them with some of the vandalism with some of the cameras, and a lot of that turned down on the customer service that was coming with their product," said Assistant Chief Jason Anderson of the West Fargo Police Department. Both departments also said Axon did not offer the license plate readers when they inked contracts with Flock. West Fargo said the information stored will only be retained for seven days, and outside departments cannot view it unless granted permission through West Fargo police. "Well, they are a well-known company, but there is also a lot of unknowns when it comes to the integration," said Cody Schuler, advocacy manager of the ACLU of North Dakota. READ MORE FROM MATT HENSON Fargo Police Department welcomes 9 new officers 1d ago Levi Larteh sentenced to 55 years in 2025 apartment stairwell slaying 1d ago Messages of hope support patients at Altru Cancer Center 4d ago Axon has been around for nearly 30 years, while Flock is new to the law enforcement world. Schuler said regardless of the vendor, there are no guardrails for the systems that gather and store large amounts of data. Lawmakers in North Dakota plan on introducing some legislation during the next session. "Even though Axon does not have a huge database that's all integrated like Flock, you still have department-to-department sharing," Schuler said. ADVERTISEMENT Moorhead's Helmick said the Flock cameras will be removed and the new Axon cameras will be installed by the end of the year. West Fargo police said they likely won't make the switch until after the winter thaw. Fargo police tell WDAY News their contract with Flock runs through July. They have not made a decision on whether they plan to renew or switch to Axon. Grand Forks police say they don't have any Flock cameras and don't plan on purchasing any. Top recent stories Woman found chained to bed in south Fargo apartment unit says she was captive for 2 years 5d ago Guitar invention puts more music in your hands 5d ago Mark Ostlund, leader who helped grow Sandy's Donuts into a regional favorite, dies 4d ago Bison Bowl Projections: A new locale and opponent surfaces 6d ago Prior Lake stuns Spuds, ending Moorhead's dream season 4d ago Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags MOORHEAD POLICE DEPARTMENT WEST FARGO POLICE DEPARTMENT TECHNOLOGY By Matt Henson Matt Henson is an Emmy award-winning reporter/photographer/editor for WDAY. 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