A man dressed as the “Star Wars” character Darth Vader used satire to criticize the city’s use of surveillance technology during a San Diego City Council committee meeting on Wednesday.
With his microphone picking up the character’s famous heavy breathing, the speaker addressed the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee under the name “Darth Vader.” He feigned support for San Diego’s automated license plate readers, telling council members that “this is what the emperor needs.”
”This technology will help us find the rebel scum and the hidden base on Hoth,” the man said, referencing the ice planet featured in the film “The Empire Strikes Back.”
He urged the council to use the system to track “rebel scum as they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium, because we all know that the Flock cameras are not only following the license plate readers, they are following children.”
The speaker then shifted his comments to higher taxes for storm drain maintenance and the clearance of local homeless encampments. He stated that the council could use “doublespeak” to portray the police force as humanitarian.
Addressing Councilmember Jennifer Campbell directly, the speaker criticized the city’s ongoing support for monitoring tools.
“And how will the people trust this City Council when this City Council continues to vote for surveillance technology that imprisons them? Ms. Campbell, you must work on your Jedi mind tricks,” he said, waving his hand toward the audience. “Do it like this.”
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He finished his statement by asking that the system be used to “help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-wing,” calling the technology “a necessary, necessary force.”
The public commentary comes amid growing local and national pushback against Flock safety systems. San Diego currently has more than 550 Flock cameras deployed across the city, according to tracking data from DeFlock.
The Flock network uses audio sensors, video cameras, and license plate readers to log vehicle details, including make, model, bumper stickers, and plate numbers.
Late last year, city officials approved a one-year agreement allowing the San Diego Police Department to access open-source intelligence and shared data from other police agencies, Axios reported in April. Axios also reported this week that local activists and some city representatives are demanding alternatives over concerns regarding mass surveillance and potential misuse by police officers.
In response to nationwide criticism, Flock announced updates to its data retention policies. The vendor plans to reduce its default storage window from 30 days down to seven days to limit data exposure on its systems, while requiring law enforcement officers to enter a case code when conducting searches.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed several lawsuits against the technology firm, dismissed the updated policies as a “thinly-veiled PR attempt.”
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