Last month, hundreds of Oakland County residents packed a Pontiac meeting room. They came to speak against a proposal that would put surveillance drones, built by a company called Flock Safety, into the hands of the county sheriff.

Police nationwide have used Flock cameras to run thousands of immigration-related searches on behalf of ICE.

Many residents did not get a chance to speak. Just before the discussion began, Commission Chair Dave Woodward held a vote to move public comment to the end of the meeting, after the contract had already passed.

When Commissioner Charlie Cavell asked for a roll call vote — to make every commissioner go on the record — Woodward denied it and moved on.

The drones were approved, 14-4.

After that meeting, residents launched a campaign to recall Woodward, and by late April, petition language was approved. 

Yesterday, Woodward appealed that approval in Oakland County Circuit Court. If a circuit judge upholds the petition language, organizers will have 60 days to gather roughly 9,000 signatures across Royal Oak, Birmingham, and parts of Troy.

Woodward has called the recall “a distraction.” 

He joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the recall effort, his business connections that have prompted ethical concerns, and whether he should have handled that April meeting differently.

Editor’s note: During this conversation, Woodward said some people involved in the recall campaign are advocating for political violence. The Metro reviewed the social media posts Woodward referred to. In one, a person supporting the recall effort praised Luigi Mangione — the man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of 2024 — calling him “the closest thing to a superhero we have.” A leader of the recall campaign says that supporter is no way affiliated with the campaign. 

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Tensions erupted at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners meeting as residents objected to the approval of a controversial Flock surveillance contract.

Public comment was halted after the crowd began calling for the recall of Board Chair Dave Woodward. WXYZ found that he visited Flock Safety’s headquarters last fall, a trip paid for by the surveillance company that he did not disclose prior to voting on the contract.

West Bloomfield resident Ellie Mosher said speakers were skipped during the comment period, prompting outcry from attendees before Woodward called a recess.

Residents attending the meeting already have reason to feel unheard. “They have had meetings regarding budgets that we are not have access to. That is not public record when it very much should be,” said Mosher.

Mosher is worried about Oakland County becoming a surveillance state with Flock cameras. “We’re seeing them pop up more and more. They can record. They use infrared light to be able to see at night, see license plates, see people’s faces through sunglasses, through clothing, through hats.”

This disruption follows criticism of a previous meeting where residents say commissioners approved Flock surveillance drones before allowing public input.

—WDET’s Natalie Albrecht contributed to this report.

The cities of Dearborn and Warren, MI have launched Drone-as-a-First-Responder programs. In Dearborn, a drone can now reach a 911 call in about two and a half minutes, often before a patrol car leaves the station.

Police and fire departments in Warren are sharing a fleet of these drones to scout house fires, crime scenes, and missing-person searches before officers arrive on the ground.

It’s fast and efficient. Police chiefs call it a game-changer. But more surveillance and more data come with increased risks and erode privacy and anonymity in public spaces.

Are the tradeoffs worth it? Drone researcher and author Arthur Holland Michel joined The Metro to discuss.

Arthur Holland Michel is a surveillance technology writer and researcher. He founded the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College and wrote the book “Eyes In the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How it Will Watch Us All.”

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Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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