Stanwood, Sedro-Woolley settle Flock records case for $80k
Published 1:24 pm Friday, August 14, 2026
EVERETT — The Stanwood City Council unanimously approved a $40,000 settlement Thursday in a case regarding the release of Flock Safety camera footage.
The settlement comes after a Skagit County Superior Court judge ruled on July 16 that the city, along with the city of Sedro-Woolley, wrongfully withheld Flock footage in response to public records requests, according to court documents. The Sedro-Woolley City Council approved its $40,000 portion of the settlement agreement at a meeting Wednesday.
In April 2025, Oregon resident Jose Rodriguez requested from Stanwood all Flock camera footage captured within a one-hour window. In May 2025, Rodriguez submitted a similar request to Sedro-Woolley. The cities decided to seek a declaratory judgment from Skagit County Superior Court that the footage was not subject to the Public Records Act.
At the time, the cities argued that Flock footage was not public record because it had not been previously accessed for an investigation, and therefore the cities didn’t own the footage. Additionally, the cities argued that the footage should be exempt for privacy reasons.
In November 2025, Skagit County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Neidzwski ruled that the footage was considered public record because it “furthers a governmental purpose.” Later that month, the cities appealed Neidzwski’s ruling.
In March, a new state law went into effect that exempts automated license plate reader footage from the Public Records Act. In response, Stanwood and Sedro-Woolley dismissed their appeal.
On July 16, Neidzwski ruled that because the cities dismissed their appeal, and the law went into effect months after the November ruling, the cities wrongfully withheld the records from Rodriguez. The ruling said Rodriguez was entitled to attorneys fees, costs and a penalty.
Later in July, the parties agreed to settle the case for $80,000, split between the two cities.
While Stanwood had paused its Flock network for several months during the litigation, it reactivated its 14 cameras in April after the state law went into effect.
In June, the city of Everett approved a $25,000 settlement for a similar case, also with Rodriguez. In that case, Everett had appealed a Snohomish County Superior Court judge’s ruling, and it was still under appeal before the settlement agreement.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
