Denver will keep using license plate-reading cameras at up to 20 intersections after the City Council narrowly approved a contract for the technology Tuesday night.
The $150,000 contract with Axon Enterprise is for a year, allowing 50 cameras. The deal replaces the city’s contract with the controversial company Flock Safety, which expired Tuesday.
Seven of the 13 council members voted in favor of the deal, siding with Mayor Mike Johnston and citing the benefits to public safety. Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez cast one of the consequential swing votes, ultimately supporting the contract despite her concerns over possible misuse of the data.
“If we start to see subpoenas or other concerns come up, then I’m happy to address those,” she said. “But I’m not going to not use this technology (just) because that might happen.”
Alvidrez voted in favor of the contract with council members Darrell Watson, Kevin Flynn, Chris Hinds, Diana Romero-Campbell, Amanda Sawyer and President Amanda Sandoval. Council members Sarah Parady, Shontel Lewis, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Stacie Gilmore, Paul Kashmann and Jamie Torres voted no.
Those opposed to the contract said they were concerned about ways the system could be exploited.
“The possible misuse of this system cannot be ignored,” Kashmann said. Axon and companies providing similar technology “are only a few clicks away from being one giant surveillance system.
“If that doesn’t terrify us, I wonder why?”
Johnston, whose administration proposed the Axon contract, has been an ardent supporter of the license plate-reading technology, saying itap a vital tool to help solve crime in the city.
Last year, the technology played a significant role in 16 homicide investigations, according to the mayor’s office. The cameras also helped in the recovery of more than 400 stolen cars and the removal of more than 60 firearms from the streets, the office said.
Car thefts decreased in Denver during the Flock pilot program, a drop that officials attribute to multiple factors beyond just the cameras. In 2023, more than 12,000 cars were stolen in the city. In 2024, thefts declined to about 8,500.
“Keeping Denver safe means giving our officers effective tools to combat crime while ensuring our rights are protected. This contract does both,” Johnston said of the Axon deal in a statement following the vote. “We’re proud to have Council’s support to move forward with this common-sense technology. … And with these strengthened privacy and data protections, we are ensuring that no federal agency or federal agent can access this data — now or ever.”
Denver has used fixed license plate-reading cameras since the first one was installed at the intersection of Federal Boulevard and West Sixth Avenue in 2018. The Denver Police Department also has license plate reading cameras mounted to some of its vehicles.
Some council members asked that the mayor’s office and the council continue to work on developing a citywide ordinance that would set some surveillance safeguards even as the new contract rolls out.
Johnston’s office convened a Surveillance Task Force last year that is in the process of developing that policy. Parady, one of the task force members, said she couldn’t say how long that would take, but said a draft was being developed.
“There will be an ordinance coming forward at some point,” Flynn said. “But I think itap appropriate to do the contract ahead because, again, I believe the contract has stronger safeguards and recourse than an ordinance will have.”
The council had been scheduled to vote on the Axon contract last week, but Flynn, a supporter, used a council rule that allowed him to unilaterally postpone it by a week. Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, three former Denver mayors — Michael Hancock, Federico Peña and Wellington Webb — penned an opinion article in The Denver Post encouraging the council to adopt the contract.
A change from Flock
Denver started a pilot program with Flock’s license plate readers at Denver International Airport, which had been struggling with high vehicle thefts, in 2023. The next year, officials expanded the program to other parts of the city, placing 111 cameras at 70 intersections.
In April 2025, Johnston’s administration attempted to extend the contract for two more years, but the council rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the company creating a mass-surveillance network.
The company also faced national scrutiny after to help carry out President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation efforts.
In August, nearly 1,400 times in 2024 and 2025, before the city asked last April to be removed from Flock’s national database.
After the council’s initial rejection, Johnston’s office extended Flock’s contract twice without council approval by signing agreements below the $500,000 cost threshold that requires a council vote.
The cameras snap photos of passing cars, capturing images of license plates and any identifiable features — say, a scratch or a dent — and using the information to help investigate crimes, such as car thefts, hit-and-runs, kidnappings and homicides.
Flock’s cameras were taken down Tuesday, said Tim Hoffman, the director of policy for the mayor’s office.
Axon has other city contracts
Johnston’s team announced the contract with Axon in February, saying that it would provide a more secure option compared to Flock. Unlike Flock, the company doesn’t have a nationwide database system. Denver also wouldn’t share its data with other jurisdictions unless they have agreed to certain restrictions. Axon will have a shorter retention period for photos — 21 days, instead of 30 under Flock.
The mayor’s office opted to bring the contract to the council despite it being well below the council-approval threshold. The council also hosted a one-hour courtesy public hearing last week to hear feedback from residents about the contract.
Axon already contracts with the city for some other police equipment, including body-worn cameras, Tasers and a livestream camera system called Fusus that uses hundreds of cameras throughout the city. The new license plate cameras have livestreaming capabilities as well.
Sandoval cast the deciding vote on the new contract Tuesday, saying she had wrestled with which way to go.
“I’ve made a lot of hard decisions,” Sandoval said. “And I can’t remember making a harder one.”
