Chesterton will disconnect its Flock Safety License Plate Reader cameras by Oct. 31 after Police Chief Tim Richardson performs an internal audit of officers’ use of the system.
Chesterton Town Council President Erin Collins, D-2nd, read a statement announcing the council’s decision, which ended with a 5-0 vote to end the contract.
The action was prompted by the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate former Chesterton Cpl. Christopher Schoof for accessing data from the Flock camera system.
Schoof resigned on Aug. 27 after being confronted with evidence of potential misuse of data collection from the system in 2024 and 2025 while he was a detective. The internal investigation found that Schoof made an excessive number of inquiries for a few license plate numbers.
The nationwide network of Flock Safety surveillance cameras has come under fire due to concerns about misuse by police officers and the invasion of privacy. The Chesterton case is one of three to unfold in the area in recent weeks; the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan City Police Department also are grappling with similar cases.
The Porter County deputy was placed on unpaid leave, among other disciplinary measures, and a special prosecutor has now taken over, after Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann initially said the deputy would not be charged with a crime.
And just days after Michigan City police went before the city council to discuss adding Flock License Plate Readers to high-traffic areas in the city, the police department announced an officer had resigned after misusing data from the cameras.
Collins said that the value of the Flock Safety camera system as a law enforcement tool is recognized.
“Public safety and personal privacy do not have to be opposing ideas,” Collins said.
Collins said there is a need for the Flock system to have stronger access controls, meaningful oversight, better documentation and tools to identify unusual or improper patterns of use.
“There should be technological measures designed to either prevent unauthorized searches or flag them in real time,” Collins said.
Collins said Chief Richardson deserves credit for acting “quickly and decisively” when he learned of potential abuses and enacting stronger internal review procedures. She noted the potential violations occurred in 2024 and 2025.
However, Collins said there needed to be more from Flock Safety to ensure that proper safeguards are in place.
More Top Picks Icicle Light
For now, the police chief will be the only one allowed to access the system as he performs an internal audit to determine if there were any other misuses by his officers.
Councilman James Ton, R-1st, said he believed the situation called for a pause in the system’s use.
Collins said there may come a time in the future that the town will return to using the camera system, but changes will have to be made.
“Additional safeguards have to be put in place before this technology is ever to be considered for use in our community again,” Collins said.
In other business, Street Superintendent John Schnadenberg revealed that the town has already spent $1 million on additional contract services to help with the removal of debris from the Aug. 11 storm.
Schnadenberg also received additional authorization to spend up to $1.5 million more on contracting services.
Chesterton will receive 75% reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the extra dollars spent.
Schnadenberg said that the town would receive 100% reimbursement for the monitoring and consulting services the town contracted for with the storm cleanup. The town has spent $275,000 on those services so far.
Council also took action to extend the local disaster emergency declaration for another 30 days and to authorize that the city of Warsaw would receive reimbursement for sending their employees and equipment to help with the cleanup.
The council also heard from Pierce Kelly, a vice president from United Steelworkers Union Local 12775, who asked for support for an investigation into the staffing levels for NIPSCO.
The Aug. 11 storm highlighted how the utility has been reducing the number of linemen over the years.
Kelly said that staffing is down 20 percent as the utility is becoming overly reliant on outside contractors when there is a major storm event.
“We’re paying more for less right now,” Kelly said, referring to higher utility rates with fewer workers to monitor the system.
The council said they would send along a letter of support for the union’s call for an investigation.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.