College Place police will turn Flock cameras back on beginning June 15

The College Place Police Department will turn its Flock Safety cameras back on after state lawmakers made some adjustments to the laws governing use of the cameras, the department announced in a news release.

The department, along with the Walla Walla Police Department, turned its cameras off in late 2025 because of concerns about legal liabilities.

The cameras in College Place will be reactivated on Monday, June 15.

The cameras, used by law enforcement agencies, take still photos of vehicles' license plates as they pass by. If a plate belongs to a vehicle that police are looking for, it will automatically alert officers.

New laws enacted in March require law enforcement to only use the cameras to investigate felonies, gross misdemeanors, stolen vehicles, parking enforcement and locating missing people.

Other uses, such as immigration enforcement, are prohibited.

The law also restricts departments from working or sharing information with out-of-state agencies, including federal agencies.

CPPD Chief Troy Tomaras said his department never provided any camera information to any federal agency but said that officers would sometimes work with police departments in other states, especially Oregon.

The south end of College Place's city limits is just two miles from Umatilla County, across the stateline.

Flock cameras have gained public attention and controversy across the country because of concerns over privacy issues and whether information would be used for immigration enforcement.

Tomaras and Walla Walla Police Department Chief Chris Buttice - whose department also stopped using the cameras last year - have said that their departments do not play any role in immigration enforcement and their officers would not assist in such enforcement.

The new law also protects license plate data from public record requests, "except for bona fide research that does not contain individually identifiable information."

A large number of public record requests for license plate data played a role in the WWPD's decision to shut off its cameras last year.

Representatives of both departments said they would receive requests for the data shortly before it was scheduled to be deleted from the system, making it hard to fulfill requests as required by law.

A WWPD spokesperson said that the WWPD is still considering its options regarding the cameras.

"(The) WWPD is exploring reactivating our Flock as a possibility, but we are not confirming yes or no right now," Sgt. Logan Morris said.

Tomaras said CPPD is reactivating the cameras because the public information issue and concerns of public overuse have been addressed.

In November of 2025, WWPD then-Capt. Eric Knudson cited about 25 cases where Flock images were used to locate a suspect. Charges ranged from simple assault and reckless driving to aggravated assault, rape and unlawful imprisonment.

In Yakima, Flock cameras assisted police in locating a suspect accused of molesting a 6-year-old girl.

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