Mason's license-plate reading cameras helped police track armed suspects in two violent incidents this summer, even as four nearby cities have ripped out the same technology over privacy fears.

Independence, Ky., became the latest community to remove its Flock cameras on Monday, Aug. 24, with Mayor Chris Reinersman saying residents had voiced opposition to the surveillance devices, Fox 19 reported. Fort Mitchell and Newport in Northern Kentucky and Oxford in Butler County have also ended their programs.

Mason has given no indication it plans to follow.

The city's cameras played a direct role in two cases Mason residents know well. On June 8, a man threatened a juvenile Culver's employee with a gun in the drive-thru off Tylersville Road. Because of Flock, Mason police knew within minutes the suspect had traveled to Kings Island, just a few miles away. Officers pulled him off a ride and arrested him.

Then on July 22, a gunman shot and killed 29-year-old Vincent Stoetzel at Carter Lumber on Reading Road. Mason Police Chief Levi Wells said officers were dispatched just before 1:15 p.m. that day, according to the Dayton Daily News. David Cohen, 34, of Cincinnati was charged with aggravated murder and is being held without bond after pleading not guilty in Mason Municipal Court. Fox 19 reported Flock cameras helped police quickly locate Cohen, though the specific role of the cameras in that case has not been detailed publicly.

The regional debate is part of a national wave. At least 23 jurisdictions across the country have canceled Flock contracts or voted to reject the technology since the start of 2026, the Washington Examiner reported Aug. 3. The cameras are in use in more than 5,000 U.S. cities.

Critics, including the ACLU, argue the cameras build searchable databases of law-abiding citizens' movements that are prone to abuse. In August, a North Carolina police officer was arrested for allegedly using Flock to track her boyfriend's ex-wife, accessing the system 31 times for personal reasons.

Law enforcement officials in the region are pushing back. Former Cincinnati police union president Dan Hils, who now heads consulting firm Front Line Advisers, told Fox 19 the cameras are simply a modern extension of basic police work.

"Thousands of missing people have been found, countless stolen vehicles have been located and many serious offenders arrested within minutes of fleeing the scene of their crimes," Hils said. "… Despite my life's work in law enforcement, I don't believe in a surveillance state. I simply don't see that in Flock technology."

Butler County Police Chiefs Association President Patrick Carr, who also serves as Trenton's police chief, told Fox 19 the system captures only still photos of vehicles and plates, not personal information. Carr called Flock "an extremely valuable tool" and warned that losing it would be "detrimental to law enforcement operations in any community."

Oxford's 6-1 council vote made it the first Ohio city to end its Flock program. Fort Mitchell had paid $34,000 for its cameras in 2024. Mason has not announced any review of its contract or any scheduled public discussion of the technology.

Residents who want to report suspicious activity can contact Mason police at 513-765-7400.