Police Departments Are Using Opioid Settlement Funds to Buy Flock Cameras
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Some opioid settlement money is ending up in police surveillance budgets. Yes, they are buying Flock cameras.
Pharmaceutical companies are paying billions of dollars to communities devastated by the opioid epidemic. In at least 10 states, some of that money has been used to buy police surveillance cameras.
A Mother Jones investigation found that 19 law-enforcement agencies have spent more than $920,000 in opioid settlement funds on automated license-plate readers, including cameras made by Flock Safety.
According to the investigation, at least 12 departments and sheriffs’ offices purchased Flock technology, while seven others bought similar systems from Motorola, Axon and Verkada. Reporter Schuyler Mitchell says the actual total may be significantly higher because there is no uniform national system for reporting how local governments spend their settlement money.
Why this news matters
Opioid settlement dollars are one of the largest pools of money available to communities trying to address the damage caused by the overdose crisis, with state and local governments expected to receive more than $50 billion over nearly two decades from settlements with pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies accused of contributing to the epidemic.
Under the major national agreements reached in 2021 and 2022, at least 85 percent of funds distributed directly to participating states and local governments must be used for opioid remediation. But what qualifies as addressing the opioid epidemic can depend heavily on where the money lands.
Some communities are directing settlement dollars toward treatment beds, naloxone distribution, peer recovery programs and medications for opioid use disorder. Others have approved law-enforcement expenditures on equipment and technology by arguing that drug interdiction and policing are also part of addressing the crisis.
One such community is Sunnyside, Washington, where, in June 2025, city officials approved $24,000 in opioid settlement money for a one-year lease of a mobile Flock surveillance trailer. The city's resolution said the system would help monitor areas associated with drug-related crime and authorized police to use settlement money for the purchase. Meanwhile, the city and surrounding area continues to lack a medical detox center despite having one of Washington's highest overdose death rates.
Some good news, though: Flock is facing scrutiny nationwide
On September 15, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael Cloud, a Texas Republican, introduced the bipartisan No FLOCK Act, which would require states to restrict automated license-plate readers to a limited number of uses or risk losing 10 percent of certain federal surface transportation funding.
The bill would permit their use for toll enforcement, stolen vehicles, missing or endangered people, felony warrants and felony investigations.
Another proposal introduced earlier this month by Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), the Flock-Off Act, would prohibit federal money from being used to purchase, operate or maintain automated license-plate readers and certain biometric surveillance systems.
Although neither proposal has yet to become law, their introduction reflects growing scrutiny over how extensively ALPR networks have expanded, what information they collect, who can search that information and what safeguards exist when officers misuse the systems.
Take Action
So, what else can we do?
Find out where your community’s opioid settlement money is going.
Follow the money
Opioid Settlement Tracker
Created by attorney Christine Minhee, the Opioid Settlement Tracker has tracked the billions of dollars flowing from opioid litigation since 2019. Its updated Everything Table brings state-by-state information into one searchable database, including who controls the funds, how spending is publicly reported and where to find available records.
Found something?
If you uncover questionable spending or something happening in your community that we should know about, send it our way.
