DeFlock Co-Founder Brandon Burch Joins Lindsborg City Council
Camera opponent fills Ward 4 vacancy as council weighs tighter Flock policy
Sign up for our free newsletter and never miss a story.
Sign up freeLINDSBORG, Kan. — Brandon Burch took the oath of office Monday, Nov. 2, joining the Lindsborg City Council as a Ward 4 representative. Council member Lysa Palmer-Augusta nominated Burch, and no other nominations were made. The council approved the appointment unanimously by voice vote.
The seat opened with the resignation of council member Joshua Swanson, according to earlier Citizen Journal coverage. The city's Sept. 21 minutes identify three applicants. A committee of city officials and two council members interviewed the candidates and recommended Burch. The city's council roster lists the seat's term as ending Dec. 31, 2027.
Burch co-founded DeFlock Lindsborg, a group opposing the city's automated license plate reader cameras, according to KWCH's September reporting. Before his appointment, he told the station, "We don't want to participate in mass surveillance of our community members, especially when we're such a peaceful community." His plans for the cameras since taking office have not been confirmed for this report.
Burch joins the council as it revises its camera policy. Later Monday, City Administrator Tanner Faust presented draft updates that would cap data retention at 14 days, down from the 30-day setting reported in September, require reasonable suspicion before searches and mandate internal and external audits. Faust also told the council that a citizen-proposed ordinance requiring all surveillance data be stored on city-controlled servers would effectively force removal of the Flock Safety cameras. The council did not adopt that proposal and will consider the draft policy for final approval at a future meeting.
On Aug. 17, the council voted 7-0 to approve a $6,000 annual renewal covering two Flock cameras and required a policy evaluation before the October meeting. The minutes also document a third camera installed in May and federal funding intended to support five cameras. On Sept. 21, the council took no action on a proposed policy amendment and scheduled an Oct. 5 study session.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Nov. 3, the city said, "We congratulate Councilman Burch and thank him for his commitment to public service."
This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.
Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: