Ashland Police Department
- Status
- Using license-plate readers
- Vendors
- Flock Safety
- Cameras
- 10
The Daily Independent (Aug. 16, 2026) counted 10 fixed Flock plate-reader cameras, listed by intersection, plus one live riverfront camera that is not made by Flock. Other counts differ: records WSAZ obtained show the city bought at least nine Flock cameras in 2023, and Spectrum News 1 (Aug. 20, 2026) described a 12-camera network. - Sources
- WSAZ, July 22, 2026; The Daily Independent (Ashland), Aug. 16, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Aug. 20, 2026
- July 2026 Police Chief Todd Kelley told WSAZ the department had been using its Flock system for about three years, with cameras placed on busy roads and at entrances to the city. (WSAZ, July 22, 2026)
- Aug. 2026 Chief Todd Kelley and Assistant Chief Ryan Conley briefed the city commission on the department's Flock use. They said images are kept 30 days, a period that could drop to seven, that use is audited every 90 days, and that the cameras are used mainly for serious crimes and urgent cases, not traffic enforcement. (The Daily Independent (Ashland), Aug. 16, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Aug. 20, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
- The commission presentation happened on a Thursday that the Daily Independent did not date. The article ran Aug. 16, 2026, so the event is dated by month only.
- Sharing: the department said it shares camera data only with Kentucky agencies and agencies within about 200 miles, and only when needed (Daily Independent; Spectrum News 1).
- Spectrum News 1 reported that the department lists immigration enforcement, traffic enforcement, harassment and searches based only on a protected class as banned uses, and posts its policy and usage figures on a Flock transparency portal. We could not open the portal.
- No contract amount or term was found.
Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.