Last year, police surveillance startup Flock Safety hired the mayor of a California city with more than 200,000 residents to promote its product. But the mayor, Ulises Cabrera of Moreno Valley, now claims Flock wrongfully fired him, in part because he refused to use his position as mayor to benefit Flock, according to a lawsuit Cabrera filed against Flock in November 2024.
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Flock raised $3.5 billion assessment Thanks to sales of license plate recognition technology across the United States (also recently expanded But the case raises concerns about the influence of private companies on elected officials.
Flock categorically denies all of Cabrera's allegations and says its hiring of a sitting mayor complies with California's conflict-of-interest rules. Cabrera did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch as of press time.
case, First report Over by surveillance industry publications ipvmSaid Cabrera worked as a community engagement manager for Flock from February to June 2024. Cabrera has been mayor of Moreno Valley since 2022, although the position is part-time. According to Local newspaper Press-Enterprise.
A Swarm job postings This position is said to come with a salary of $100,000 – $140,000 plus additional stock options. The job description says the objective is to “guide law enforcement customers” through the public procurement process “in collaboration with the sales team.” During his time at Flock, Moreno made presentations promoting Flock's technology at at least two city council meetings outside his jurisdiction. A Whitewater, Kansas and in another Mammoth Lakes, CaliforniaAccording to the public meeting notes.
But about two weeks after Cabrera started working for Flock, a Flock employee allegedly requested that Cabrera “use his position as mayor of Moreno Valley to benefit the company,” Cabrera's lawsuit said. Concerned about the ethical and legal implications, Cabrera claims he forwarded the request to his legal counsel while copying the Flock employee, who allegedly began “exhibiting retaliatory behavior” immediately afterward. Cabrera's lawsuit doesn't go into more detail about what Flock requested of him.
Albert Fox Kahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, told TechCrunch, “It's disturbing to see claims that this company will pressure employees to unethically abuse government positions.” Fueled.”
Flock said it confirmed with outside counsel that hiring a sitting mayor is legal under California's conflict of interest regulations and that it trained Cabrera. the law Prevents public officials from making decisions based on their own financial interests, including as employees of private companies. But it does not bar them from taking private sector jobs.
While campaigning for re-election, which he won in November 2024, Cabrera claims His campaign website lists his previous vote to fund a citywide Flock system in Moreno Valley (before he started working for Flock), but he did not disclose on the website that he ended up working for Flock while serving as mayor. His LinkedIn does not currently mention Flock.
Cabrera also claims he suffered retaliation for raising concerns that Flock was significantly underreporting the number of surveillance cameras installed in Carmel-by-the-Sea while working on a project there. Last February, A separate Forbes investigation Flock was found to have violated laws in at least five states by installing cameras without proper permission from the installation authorities. Flock told Forbes that the agency “acts to the best of our ability within the bounds of the law.”
Cabrera also claims Flock's employee sexually harassed her by rubbing her leg against her at a conference and revealing upcoming parental leave. Flock says it categorically denies all of Cabrera's allegations.
The case marks the latest episode in Flock's recent legal troubles In April, a civil rights organization Dr Flock suedArguing that the company's extensive surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment. In September, the Texas Department of Public Safety Swarms sent pauses and pauses, It claims it does not have the proper license to operate private homes and businesses.