Public opposition to the City of Bandera’s planned license plate reader camera system drew a standing-room-only crowd at a contentious town hall meeting Feb. 18, with residents questioning city officials, law enforcement and a company representative about privacy, crime and transparency.
City Council members Jeff Flowers and Lynn Palmer sat at the front of the meeting with other individuals and answered questions from the audience, while Council Members Debbie Breen and Deanna McCabe sat in the audience, citing confusion about the meeting’s structure.
Breen said she was unsure whether she would be allowed to speak because no formal agenda had been posted beforehand, and McCabe said she had similar concerns. Mayor Denise Griffin was absent due to her 42nd wedding anniversary, and Council Member Tammy Morrow was out of town.
Palmer left the meeting a little over an hour after it began, leaving Flowers as the only council member at the front to continue responding to questions for the remainder of the town hall.
The meeting came in the wake of controversy over the city’s plan to install Flock Safety license plate reader cameras at entrances to Bandera. The project is funded primarily through a $14,000 Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grant awarded under Senate Bill 224 and covers most of the approximately $17,000 system.
The council approved the grant unanimously in May 2025, when the council included Brett Hicks, Tony Battle, Debbie Breen, Lynn Palmer and Jeff Flowers. The system includes five cameras, four fixed cameras known as “falcons” and one pan, tilt and zoom camera known as a “condor.”
Opposition intensified after the condor camera installed near Tractor Supply on Highway 173 was vandalized. The incident remains under investigation by the Bandera City Marshal’s Office.
Residents filled the meeting room holding neon signs reading “Flock off Bandera” and urged the council to reconsider the project. By the end of the meeting, council members indicated the issue would return for further discussion at a future council meeting.
Bandera City Marshal Earl Heidelberg and Bandera County Sheriff Josh Tietge also attended the meeting. Both have previously expressed support for the cameras, citing limited staffing, but neither presented a formal statistical report during the town hall outlining projected crime reduction.
Palmer said she believes crime in Bandera has increased.
“I have lived in Bandera for 50 years,” Palmer said. “Crime has gone up. I live by myself and I have video cameras in my house. I would be thankful if cameras caught a person that tried to murder me. There’s crime happening everywhere in Bandera that you don’t even know about.”
Her comments drew criticism from residents, including Bandera County resident Jordan, who did not provide a last name.
“This is our town,” Jordan said, referring to previous comments from Palmer that Bandera County residents, not city residents, were complaining about something that didn’t impact them.
“Even if we live within the community, this is our town,” Jordan continued. “Our kids go to school here, we do our activities here, I pay my taxes here. Self-governance starts at home. It’s your duty to defend our constitutional rights.”
Some residents also accused city officials of raising fears about crime without presenting data.
Tietge told residents crime reports are publicly available.
“You can go to FBI. gov and Uniform Crime Report,” Tietge said. “I can tell you that since I have taken office, there have been a significant number of arrests and investigations.”
Tietge said additional information could be provided upon request.
Flowers also voiced support for the system, citing Bandera’s location along regional travel routes.
“16 is a huge corridor for drugs and human trafficking all the way from Zapata, Laredo and they use us as a corridor because they can bypass all the other areas,” Flowers said. “Because they have been doing it for years. It’s questionable why these cameras are being vandalized mysteriously. I question if it’s a cartel member.”
Flowers’ spouse, Nicole, also spoke during the meeting, sharing a personal account of sexual assault and expressing support for the cameras.
Flock Safety public affairs manager Kerry McCormack addressed questions from residents, stating the city could cancel the program without penalty, that the cameras do not use facial recognition and that the system stores encrypted license plate data owned by the city and automatically deletes it after 30 days.
McCormack said the cameras operate using solar power and transmit information through cellular networks.
Flowers said during the meeting that the cameras do not rely on infrared technology, a statement that differs from information on Flock Safety’s website, which says its cameras use motion detection and infrared technology to capture vehicle details day and night.
Interim City Administrator Jill Dickerson moderated the meeting, allowing residents to speak and extending time limits to ensure participants could fully express their concerns.
The item was not on Feb. 24’s agenda, but Interim City Secretary Jill Dickerson says the matter is expected to be discussed in the near future.
Following the town hall, Flowers released a public statement Feb. 19 defending the program while emphasizing he was speaking in a personal capacity. That full statement is available is BanderaBulletin.com.
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