Flocking to authoritarianism 

Most Durango folks recognize that America is “having seizures,” as armed masked gangs use lethal violence to attack and round up innocent people, with no legal redress or accountability. Some compare them to the Gestapo, but they also replicate a very American institution – slave patrols – exercising complete if illegitimate authority to abduct, try and murder residents and citizens on the spot based on racist and partisan criteria. 

Lest you think you are safe, please research NSPM-7, a presidential directive targeting what Trump calls “domestic terrorists.” NSPM-7 uses vague terms to name as enemies of the state anyone who disagrees with this administration, as determined by social media posts and other signs of thought sin. Trump recently directed the DOJ and FBI to develop a list specifically naming this majority of Americans. Why? So he can use the vast powers of government to victimize workers, families and students, fulfilling the racist and Christian nationalist mission of Project 2025.

This is the context in which to consider Durango’s surveillance system. Durango has cameras and software installed by Flock, a corporation documented to share data with the very federal agencies imposing terror on Americans – and Flock did this without informing the law enforcement agencies or communities involved. Flock’s nationwide data-sharing system is (by contract) a known sieve allowing information-passing between agencies with no meaningful oversight and allowing information use for stalking, pregnancy-tracking and personal vendetta. This is happening in Colorado.

The cameras paid for by Durango residents record every trip we make, providing an on-demand, AI-powered, detailed, hour-by-hour profile of everyone’s work, leisure and shopping habits, with a map of our social networks. This comprehensive data is cloud-kept by Flock forever and shared however Flock sees (pro)fit. Flock data equips ICE to lie in wait to abduct any family or commuter heading to their daily obligations, as they did the Jaramillo-Solano family on Oct. 27, 2025. Today, dark-skinned people are being kidnapped; tomorrow it’s anyone with an independent mind or voice, including you, dear reader. All curtsy and give thanks to NSPM-7.

Unfortunately, Durango’s decent leaders seem unaware of the danger Flock creates every day. Though friendly and open to conversation, a local police leader consistently uses reassurances that conceal the risks outlined here, invalidating and obscuring residents’ valid concerns.

A City Council leader has steadfastly refused to even allow the topic of Flock at City Council meetings, while granting an extended platform for an approved, one-sided view by a police leader.

On Dec. 2, 2025, a City Council leader publicly, and a police leader privately suggested that those of us voicing concerns about Flock’s dangers are really motivated by a wish to conceal crimes we committed. This is shocking and unacceptable. 

The City Council recently adopted a 2026 agenda that opposes “political narratives that diminish the important contributions of law enforcement.” Narratives? Is our Council policing our thought now? Why place constraints on free discussion of our thoughts and concerns? Will the emerging effort to unmask (and make accountable) law enforcement meet the same disregard?

Durango deserves more than a monologue reassuring us about the benefits of ALPRs (Automated License Plate Readers), more than silencing, invalidating and shaming concerned residents. We need a real, factual, respectful public dialogue about the risks we face and the valid alternatives available. 

This conversation needs to fully acknowledge the current upheaval to the rule of law by a federal government boldly proclaiming and exerting its authoritarian agenda. Only in that honest and aware context can we consider how to keep Durango residents safe and imagine the new role required of our dedicated local law enforcement officers and city government.

– Kirby MacLaurin, Durango