6 July 16 - 22, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents dit trail, and data is automatically deleted af- ter 30 days by default.” The way Flock collects data has also come under scrutiny in recent months. In April, a Wisconsin city council voted to re- scind a contract it had approved less than 24 hours earlier after it came to light that Flock representatives had made “false statements” about vehicle tracking. They had told the council that Flock software did not create heatmaps for tracking individual vehicles, a claim that was later revealed to be untrue. Privacy concerns were a large factor in the Austin City Council’s decision not to re- new a contract with Flock in 2025. Officials raised doubts about creating a shared data- base with a private company that contains residents’ vehicle information and could be used to identify additional personal details. “We are concerned about privacy and civil liberties and the increasing surveillance infra- structure that records our every movement and shares our social patterns with public and private actors,” Austin Council member Mike Siegel told the Barbed Wire in 2025. Police Departments in Plano, McKinney and Fort Worth also utilize Flock cameras. In Carrollton, where the police department launched Flock cameras last year, a “Deflock Carrollton” campaign is underway, with over 600 people signing a June petition call- ing for the removal of ALPRs. Alvarez said that while he thinks the city needs to consider an ordinance codifying re- strictions on data use, he would prefer that Dallas discontinue its Flock program alto- gether. “It feels like a start of a slippery slope, be- cause once we rely on other tools like Flock cameras, then we expand more on it even more,” he said. “Then we’re gonna rely on those that you on those tools more than our officers, or even just like our community.” ICE on watch? The use of cameras by ICE and other fed- eral agencies is also a concern for Alvarez, who has monitored the position of ALPRs with other activists. He said the cameras can contribute to a climate of fear for immigrant communities who are already facing uncer- tain circumstances. At the December oversight board meet- ing, DPD representatives said that the only agency with access to the city’s Flock data- base was the US Postal Inspection Service. However, that was before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold funding to force the department to change its policies on cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. “There was one specific Flock camera that we’ve noticed was pointed towards the gate of an apartment complex,” he said. “So that’s their way of doing security measures, but that can also create fear, and if immigra- tion is actually using these cameras and get- ting access, then they can find out who’s in that part of a complex through the license plate.” In a statement to the Observer, DPD rep- resentatives said only a handful of agencies have direct access to DPD Flock data, with ICE not among them. “The Dallas Police Department shares in- telligence with other agencies conducting le- gitimate criminal investigations,” the statement reads. “Currently, the only federal agencies that have share capabilities with DPD’s Flock cameras are Cowlitz Indian Tribal Public Safety Department, FBI, Nat- chez Trace Parkway MS – National Park Ser- vice, and the US Postal Inspection Service.” Community oversight board members also questioned if non-federal agencies and sheriff’s departments with access to the DPD system could share the data with ICE on their own accord. The head of DPD’s Flock program, Sergeant Adam Reinhart, said that the data could “potentially” be shared with ICE through partner agencies and departments. In a statement, Flock representatives told the Observer that while the company does not have a contract with DHS or ICE, “agen- cies retain full ownership and control of their data.” ‘Surveillance state’ Brandon Friedman, a member of the over- sight board, said a fair number of its members are skeptical of the technology and have questions about the system’s security. “DPD doesn’t ultimately control the con- tent; Flock does, and I don’t know what Flock’s doing with it,” Friedman said. “There’s a lot of questions, and they abso- lutely should not be sharing that with fed- eral agencies.” He also said that he was concerned about reports of abuse by police departments. In April, the Institute for Justice published a report that documented over 20 cases of po- lice officers using the system to track love interests, although none of the cases were in Texas, and most faced criminal charges. In one instance, a Florida sheriff’s deputy used ALPRs to track and eventually pull over a woman whom he had met while providing security at a TV set. Friedman still has doubts about the guardrails placed on the Flock program, and said if an instance of police abuse or cooper- ation with ICE were to come to light, he would actively press for the program to end in Dallas. “I don’t think a lot of Dallas residents are interested in living in a surveillance state where every movement is monitored, and that’s kind of what Flock cameras are now,” he said. “We want laws enforced, we want crime prosecuted, and we want criminals arrested, but we got to make sure that the way we’re going about that does not infringe on the rights and liberties of everyone else who lives here.” ▼ WORLD CUP ADIOS, RONALDO SOCCER’S SUPERSTAR TAKES HIS FINAL WORLD CUP BOW IN DALLAS BY EMMA RUBY F our days before his World Cup career would come to an end, Cristiano Ron- aldo scored his first ever knockout stage goal in the tournament. The point came from a converted penalty kick during a second half, and contributed to Croatia’s ousting from the 2026 bracket. It may come as a shock that the Portuguese superstar, held among soccer’s greats, had never before scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup. He’s notched six World Cups on his belt, and made it to 10 knockout games. But the goal had eluded him. His June 2 point, scored in front of a packed crowd in Toronto, came just in time. Days later on June 6, a late goal by Spain’s Mikel Merino ended Portugal’s 2026 World Cup campaign in Dallas. The round of 16 match was a game of few chances, although the crowd in Dallas Sta- dium never lost their roaring energy. Throughout the game, a fervor seemed to overtake the crowd each time Ronaldo touched the ball, which wasn’t often. Ticket prices for the match were one of the highest in Dallas yet. Get-in prices peaked close to $3,000 a seat at the end of June, before falling to a still-whopping $1,600 the morning of the contest. Back on July 5, we noticed that standing-room only tickets were selling for over $1,000. But for the Ronaldo superfans, that price was well worth it. “I can’t watch football sitting down any- ways,” said one fan wearing a Portugal kit whilst white knuckling the railing of the sta- dium’s standing zone. Spain’s single goal was scored during stoppage time, leading to the tournament’s latest last-minute win. Fresh off the 1-0 loss, Ronaldo confirmed to reporters that this years’ World Cup tournament was his last. Twenty years come to a close. “I’m sad to leave the World Cup this way,” Ronaldo told reporters after the match. “I gave it my all, and I leave with a clear conscience.” He added that “there’s time to think” about what the rest of his career will look like moving forward. Although the June 6 match closed the cur- tain on one star’s journey, Spain’s win en- sured that a member of soccer’s new generation will have at least one more game on the World Cup stage. At only 18 years old, Lamine Yamal is regarded as one of the great- est players in the world, and in his first World Cup tournament, had already notched a goal and a “Man of the Match” title. Yamal had a few chances at the goal in the game’s first half, but ultimately struggled to take off against Portugal’s defense. After the game clock hit zero on Monday, Yamal approached an emotional Ronaldo for an embrace. For one, the hunt for the World Cup trophy has ended. For the other, hope remains alive. Mike Brooks Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo did not have a great final World Cup match in Arlington Smile for the Cameras from p4
