By Vanguard Staff
OAKLAND, CA – Secure Justice and its executive director, Brian Hofer, have again sued the City of Oakland, alleging the city repeatedly violated state law, its own municipal rules, and a 2024 settlement agreement governing the use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology.
The petition filed in Alameda County Superior Court this week seeks a writ prohibiting Oakland from continuing to use automated license plate readers, asserting ongoing violations of SB 34, improper data sharing with outside agencies, failure to comply with internal policies, and unlawful sole-source contracting practices. The filing states, “On September 2, 2021, Petitioners sued The City of Oakland (Case No. RG1111681) over some of the same misconduct identified below,” including unlawful sharing of license plate data in violation of state law and Oakland’s surveillance ordinance.
The complaint argues that while Oakland settled the earlier case in 2024, it has “been in breach of the Settlement Agreement ever since.” The petition alleges the city promised to comply with a revised departmental order governing automated license plate readers, but began violating those rules “from the first day it went into effect.”
In a statement accompanying the filing, Hofer said, “The City of Oakland has never fully complied with the 2024 adopted settlement agreement arising from Case No. RG1111681, including by failing to terminate unauthorized third party access to ShotSpotter, and failing to comply with SB 34 and the city’s own use policy regarding use of Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers. To say that we are frustrated would be an understatement.”
The petition asserts Oakland improperly shared sensitive location data collected through automated license plate readers with federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies, including through a Flock Safety access network. The filing states that automated audit logs revealed “millions of searches by external agencies” and violations of SB 34, which prohibits sharing such data with non-California agencies.
The petition further alleges the misconduct persisted despite Attorney General directives, public scrutiny, and prior litigation. According to the filing, “Petitioner Hofer has been informed by OPD that, despite the negative media attention and litigation threat, OPD has not changed any of its ALPR practices in an attempt to mitigate the harm OPD has caused.”
Hofer argued the technology is being misused and poses real risks. “The people of Oakland need to understand that its police department and city attorneys have no problem with Flock Safety’s use of stolen data in its products, that Flock Safety provided data directly to ICE and lied about it, that Flock Safety’s technology and databases are being used to prosecute red state individuals that come to California to seek reproductive or gender affirming care criminalized in their home states,” he said.
The lawsuit also claims the Oakland Police Department misled city leaders about the cost and competitive availability of surveillance products, including ShotSpotter gunshot-detection technology and Flock Safety systems. The petition states, “OPD misled the City Council by falsely claiming that only ShotSpotter can provide the desired services, despite knowing that multiple vendors provide similar technology.” The filing concludes that bypassing competitive bidding “harmed the taxpayers of Oakland at a time when Oakland can ill afford to overpay.”
Secure Justice is asking the court to prohibit Oakland from using its automated license plate reader system, compel compliance with public records laws, and require competitive bidding on surveillance technology contracts.
Hofer said Oakland cannot maintain its stated values while continuing these practices.
“Oakland cannot claim to be a sanctuary city when it fails at such a large scale to protect the data privacy interests of its residents and visitors, especially in the face of the Trump administration’s attacks directly targeting Oakland,” he said.
The City of Oakland has not yet issued a public response.
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