Hilliard's 15 Flock license plate reader cameras face growing pressure from two directions. Bipartisan state lawmakers want Ohio to revoke permits for the surveillance technology on state roads, and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deputy's use of the system.

Four Ohio House members sent a letter Sept.1 to Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Pamela Boratyn urging her to halt new permits for Flock-style cameras, review all existing permits and revoke them where legally authorized. State Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, Levi Dean, R-Xenia, Darnell Brewer, D-Cleveland, and Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, signed the letter, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

The lawmakers also asked ODOT to publicly disclose how many cameras the agency has authorized, who owns them and the terms of each agreement.

In their letter, the representatives argued that the potential crime-solving benefit does not justify building a system capable of tracking millions of Ohioans without a warrant, individualized suspicion or meaningful public oversight. They cited Florida, where transportation officials moved to revoke Flock permits in late August, as a model.

Dean separately plans to introduce the Ohio Freedom from Mass Surveillance Act, which would prohibit government agencies from deploying Flock cameras and other mass surveillance technologies without a warrant, according to a statement on the Ohio House website. The current legislative session ends in December, and cleveland.com reported that bills introduced this late rarely pass.

Franklin County deputy under investigation

The same day, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced his office is investigating a deputy whose searches of the Flock system raised concerns during an internal review, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. The deputy has not been identified because the investigation is ongoing.

Baldwin's office does not operate stationary Flock cameras and never has, the statement said. The office uses mobile cameras in limited circumstances, including homicide and missing-person cases, and has data-sharing agreements with several townships.

Baldwin did not say whether he would halt Flock use, as Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther did for Columbus police, WYSO reported. Baldwin said he is developing an internal auditing process.

What Hilliard's program looks like

As we reported Sept. 9, Hilliard police operate 15 Flock cameras.

The department's Flock transparency portal shows the system logged roughly 404,795 vehicle detections in the 30 days before Sept. 9, with 122 officer searches and 876 hotlist hits during that period. Hilliard's posted policy states data is retained for 30 days, all access requires a valid reason and is logged indefinitely. Prohibited uses include immigration enforcement, traffic enforcement, harassment and personal use.

No public statement from Hilliard police or city officials has addressed the lawmakers' letter or the Franklin County investigation.

Pressure building across Ohio

The developments follow Columbus's suspension of its Flock program after a USA Today investigation found a Columbus police officer searched the same plate 272 times over roughly 13 months. Reynoldsburg discontinued its cameras entirely on Sept. 9, after two officers resigned over alleged misuse, Mayor Joe Begeny announced, according to 10TV.

Both major-party candidates for governor have weighed in. Democratic candidate Amy Acton said Sept. 8, in an interview that she would "absolutely support" bipartisan legislation banning Flock cameras statewide. Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said in late August that Flock cameras would never be used to spy on individuals in Ohio, though his campaign did not clarify whether he supports ordinary use of the cameras, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

ODOT has not publicly responded to the lawmakers' letter. No hearing date has been set for Dean's proposed legislation.