The Manor Police Department is halting its use of Flock security cameras in the eastern Travis County city, three months after law enforcement officials widely credited the network with helping stop what police say was a two-day random shooting spree and fueling a local debate about such surveillance systems.
Police Chief Ryan Phipps confirmed the development to the American-Statesman on Wednesday. The city has about 10 such cameras. Two are not operational after vandals destroyed them, Phipps said.
A vehicle is towed away on FM-973 in Manor, Texas near where two suspects were arrested and police search for another that fled after a series of shootings on Sunday, May 17, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
“Effective today, Sept. 3, 2026, the Manor Police Department has decided to end our relationship with Flock Safety,” Phipps said in a statement. “Although we see the benefit in use of license plate readers to solve crime, we value the trust of our community.”
Manor, about 15 miles east of Austin, becomes the latest Central Texas city to stop using Flock cameras, with Elgin and Bastrop moving to do so just this week. The announcements came days after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop spending money on the cameras. Pflugerville, San Marcos and Lago Vista had already voted to terminate their agreements with Flock.
Manor’s decision is especially significant because police had credited the city’s cameras with helping locate the three teenagers accused of firing on a dozen homes, vehicles and two Austin fire stations. The shooting injured four people, including one critically. In addition, Phipps acted alone in ending Manor’s agreement with Flock.
A Flock camera is seen with the cameras covered on east Pfennig Lane in Pflugerville on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)
Manor police have said that they received a request to be on the lookout for a car investigators linked to the shootings. When officers searched the city’s Flock network, they found the vehicle had recently entered Manor heading north on FM 973, police said. Officers then swarmed the area and found the teens.
The suspects were ages 15, 16 and 17, police said.
Immediately after the May shootings, proponents of license plate reader cameras urged Austin officials to reconsider using the cameras after the city ended its agreement with Flock in June 2025.
A Texas Department of Public Safety license plate reader camera manufactured by Flock Safety stands near the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail along West Cesar Chavez Street in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. A protest sign attached to the pole reads, “DPS is watching you.” (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Mayor Kirk Watson told reporters at a news conference that license plate readers probably would have helped locate the teens faster.
Earlier this year, the Austin City Council approved a measure that creates a framework for how police must submit a proposal for using such equipment and requires disclosures to the public. Austin police say they are still evaluating companies that make and sell such equipment but have not yet made any proposals to the city.
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This article originally published at Flock cameras helped Manor police find shooting suspects. Now the city is dropping them..
