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Darth Vader Critic Demands Flock Safety Funds, Retention Cut

8/22/2026

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Summary

Darth Vader Defends

A man dressed as Darth Vader addressed San Diego City Council and defended Flock Safety cameras.
He claimed the cameras help the “Emperor” track “rebel scum” from playgrounds to pools and gyms.
He said he needed the technology “to stalk my ex-girlfriend.”
He urged diverting funds from parks, libraries and shelters to police and “Storm Troopers.”
The city currently operates over 550 Flock Safety cameras, according to a tracking map.

Summary

SDPD Leverages

San Diego Police Department logged 244,000 ALPR searches in 2025, advancing 361 investigations.
The system recovered 259 stolen vehicles and located four missing persons last year.
ALPR data contributed to nine of the city’s 28 homicides in 2025.
Flock will cut default data retention from 30 to seven days after about 100 municipalities canceled or paused contracts.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 the LAPD installed the nation’s first large-scale automated license-plate recognition system, scanning about 1.5 million plates monthly. The rollout followed decades of post-World II growth and heightened police scrutiny after the 1965 Watts riots, which killed 34 people, and the 1992 Rodney King unrest. Its legacy appears in San Diego’s 244,000 ALPR searches in 2025, underscoring how early adoption fuels current surveillance debates.

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Darth Vader Defends

A man dressed as Darth Vader addressed San Diego City Council and defended Flock Safety cameras.
He claimed the cameras help the “Emperor” track “rebel scum” from playgrounds to pools and gyms.
He said he needed the technology “to stalk my ex-girlfriend.”
He urged diverting funds from parks, libraries and shelters to police and “Storm Troopers.”
The city currently operates over 550 Flock Safety cameras, according to a tracking map.

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