The Columbus Division of Police began covering the city's 65 Flock cameras on Friday, one day after Mayor Andrew Ginther paused the city's use of the surveillance technology.
A spokesperson for CPD confirmed all the city's cameras will be covered, but didn't say when the job may be completed. This doesn't include dozens of other cameras owned by entities like Ohio State University, the Ohio Department of Transportation and other local government in the area.
Cameras at the corner of 5th Avenue and North High Street in the Short North as well as Parsons Avenue and Whittier Avenue on the south side of Columbus has a black plastic bag covering the cameras Friday afternoon.
Others, like in the University District on East Lane Avenue and Indianola Avenue weren't covered yet as of 3 p.m. Friday.
Ginther chose to pause the use of the cameras Thursday when the city discovered Officer Melvin Tellis may have misused the cameras. Tellis was relieved of duty as the city investigates why he searched for the location of a single license plate dozens of times in 2024.
The police said the searches weren't related to an investigation.
The cameras are technically leased to cities like Columbus by Flock Safety. The company has come under fire for privacy concerns and the data from local police departments being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The cameras take photos and retain data of all cars that pass by. Police are able to search the data for cars by license plate or vehicle description.
An internal audit conducted by Columbus police earlier this year didn't flag the potential misuse. The audit found more than 15,000 system searches out of almost 20 million were immigration-related and only one was done by a Columbus police officer.
The city's contract with Flock expires in December, leaving the decision on whether to keep it in city council's hands. Multiple city council members have called for the city to end its contract with Flock.
