Statewide Action on License Plate Readers

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he is removing Flock cameras from state roadways. The order requires all Flock cameras to be removed from the "state highway system" within the next 30 days, a category that includes interstates such as I-10 and I-75. After that period, if Flock cameras are still found on some roads, Florida's Department of Transportation will take them down. The memo also states that Flock cameras will not receive permits in Florida in the future.

The decision follows a week of mounting scrutiny over the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in the state. During a press event at Florida International University, DeSantis said he believes the cameras are "out of control" and expressed support for legislation further regulating Flock systems to protect against a "surveillance state." He noted that the cameras were initially used for tolling in Florida before being used for other purposes.

"This was something that was kind of out there in that vein, and then with this whole Flock situation, it's now being used not for tolling by plate or things like that, but for actual criminal surveillance," he said. "I don't want to have this become a surveillance I don't want there to be a situation — that's why we wanted an AI Bill of Rights."

DeSantis also promised to "clear the state right-of-ways," while leaving the door open to using the cameras for immigration enforcement if it was "very targeted."

County Responses

While the Florida Department of Transportation order did not mandate disconnecting ALPRs, a number of counties on Monday said they would disconnect their Flock systems in response to the memo. Jacksonville, Franklin, Walton, Okaloosa, Liberty, Putnam, and Calhoun counties are among those turning off cameras.

Franklin County Sheriff AJ Smith told WJHG that most of the county's cameras are already on state roadways, so the county went ahead and turned those off, in addition to other cameras located on county right-of-ways. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office followed suit, citing concerns about "individual liberty."

Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power has also called for a full ban on Flock systems, citing concerns about privacy rights.

Deputy's Resignation and Misconduct Allegations

The governor's order came days after Michael Fultz, a Brevard County sheriff's deputy who was named "2025 Deputy of the Year," resigned from the sheriff's office as the agency prepared to fire him. The resignation followed an internal investigation that documented "egregious misconduct," including an improper search of his ex-girlfriend's license plate, photos involving a firearm during a sex act, and an apparent Nazi salute, as reported by The Times of India.

Fultz's ex-girlfriend contacted the sheriff's office with numerous allegations on the same day he was formally honored as "2025 Deputy of the Year" in March 2026. The sheriff's office audited its Flock Safety license-plate reader system and found that Fultz had searched his ex-girlfriend's license plate once before the beginning of his shift.

Investigators wrote: "Deputy Fultz denied checking her vehicle registration to spy on her or out of revenge but could not provide any reason as to why he queried her vehicle registration tag while off duty."

DeSantis, citing cases of police officers stalking their ex-girlfriends using the surveillance system, said his administration is pro-law enforcement. "But, you also have to say, okay, how could this be misused? And how could a private company misuse the data, but also law enforcement? We know there was an officer in Florida who was using the LPR data to track like an ex-girlfriend or something like that," he said.