Flock Bike Tour - Downtown Indy
About this Event
If you're lucky enough to have avoided the controversy surrounding Flock Safety's rise to notoriety, this is your chance to learn more. Join us for a guided bike tour through downtown Indy tracing the spread of Flock Safety's surveillance cameras across the city. We'll ride past camera locations, talk about how the system works, and dig into why it's become one of the most contested pieces of tech in American policing.
Indianapolis and Marion County signed a $6 million contract with Flock running through 2028, part of a nationwide rollout that's sparked real backlash. Just this month, Flock announced new "accountability" rules. These shortened default data retention from 30 to 7 days and required case numbers for police searches. After mounting reports of officers misusing the database, including cases where officers tracked romantic partners' movements. Critics, including the ACLU of Indiana's "Get Flock Out" campaign, say the changes don't go far enough since police still aren't required to get a warrant to search the data. Meanwhile, residents in some Indiana and Rhode Island towns have voted to cancel their Flock contracts outright, and cameras have been vandalized or torn down in cities across the country, including one near Beech Grove.
We start at Bike People (right next to Natural State Provisions) at noon. All skill levels welcome, leisurely pace.
The route:
📍 Bike People → Factory Arts District, our first Flock camera stop. City-County Councilor Jesse Brown joins us to talk about the council’s power to purchase and install this tech, and why he’s pushed for both public safety and public accountability.
📍 Start of Mass Ave, under the I-65/70 split. Samson Levingston breaks down how this infrastructure project divided a neighborhood, right by the plaque marking Wes Montgomery’s home. Real talk about how tax-dollar decisions shape daily life.
📍 Mass Ave, our longest stretch. No Flock cameras here, but that doesn’t mean surveillance isn’t part of the landscape.
📍 Washington & Pennsylvania, where three Flock cameras cover the intersection.
📍 Monument Circle to wrap up, ask questions, and grab free water (it’s gonna be warm out there).
Back to Bike People via the Cultural Trail.
Come see the cameras for yourself, learn how they fit into the bigger surveillance debate, and leave with more information on making your community safer. All bikes and skill levels welcome! We'll keep a leisurely pace with stops to talk at each location.
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Agenda
🕑: 12:00 PM
Meet at Bike People
Host: Fred Miller
Info: The folks at Bike People have agreed to air up tires and check your bike for safety! There will also be coffee and refreshments at Natural State Provisions.
🕑: 12:30 PM
Stop 1 - Factory Arts District
Info: City CouncilorJesse Brown joins the tour to share some information on what City-County Council members can do to protect you.
🕑: 01:00 PM
Stop 2 - Mass Ave
Info: Historian, Sampson Levingston, joins the tour to talk about how government policy affects our communities today
🕑: 01:30 PM
Stop 3 - Washington & Pennsylvania
Info: The site with the most flock cameras on the tour. Our host, Fred Miller, will explain how flock cameras are used to gather more than license plate data.
🕑: 02:00 PM
Final Stop - Monument Circle
Info: Before returning to the Bike People, we will stop at Monument Circle to answer questions and grab some free water.
🕑: 03:00 PM
Return to Bike People
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
