A 77-year-old Republican man is staging a solo protest against Flock cameras

Summary

Carl Gunn in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 25, 2026. Photo by Valerie Smith. Credit: Valerie Smith / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay Carl Gunn, 77, was concerned for his privacy when he spotted a camera outside his St. Petersburg neighborhood of Coquina Key, mounted on a 12-foot tall black pole. Gunn later learned that the device was operated by a private, for-profit company, and that it automatically loads license plates and AI-generated profiles of each passing car into a massive database.The only 12-foot pole Gunn had was his pool skimmer. He taped a sign to it, grabbed a camping chair, and sat himself in front of the camera. This Saturday, all the camera saw was Gunn’s sign: “DOWN WITH FLOCK CAMERAS.” “This is just another thing to take our information and to spy on us,” Gunn told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “I have a constitutional right to my privacy. I’m a law-abiding citizen, and I don’t need anyone sticking their nose in my business. And if they do, I’m going to chop it off.”This was Gunn’s second protest against Flock cameras, his first being a week prior at a camera a few blocks away. CL interviewed Gunn as he sat under the sun with his sign and watched the public reaction to his protest.Gunn was eventually joined by a supportive stranger who brought him a shade umbrella and a cold soda. Passing drivers honked in support, and one even dropped off cold drinks and snacks out of her passenger window. A person who would only identify themselves as ‘Carter C’ joins Carl Gunn in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 25, 2026. Photo by Valerie Smith. Credit: Valerie Smith / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay Gunn told CL that officers in two St. Petersburg police cruisers stopped by to question him for about 10–15 minutes before driving off. Footage shared with CL appears to show two cruisers stopped in the road beside Gunn as the driver taking the video shouts: “Yo, what’s your name? I’ll come bail you out!”Flock cameras are run by a private company and have been in St. Petersb...