A Citizen's Summary: What Has Happened Here
In 2020, Mt. Juliet residents were told the city was getting license plate readers to catch stolen cars. Five years later, residents now live under one of the most expansive municipal surveillance systems in Tennessee — and most of them never voted on it.
What started as Guardian Shield — a modest Rekor camera system designed to scan plates and flag stolen vehicles — has been quietly transformed into something fundamentally different. In June 2025, with a single commission vote, the program was expanded to include 80 networked Flock Safety cameras, automated drones launched from the police station, real-time 911 audio integration, direct access to private business surveillance footage, and a connection to a national license-plate database shared with thousands of other agencies.
This is not the program residents approved in 2020. It is a categorically different surveillance system, built on top of the original one, with no separate referendum, no town hall mandate, and no public vote on the expansion itself.
The Pattern
Each piece, on its own, was sold as a small upgrade for public safety:
- "We're just upgrading the cameras." — The new vendor brought 80 networked cameras instead of a handful of standalone readers.
- "We're just adding 911 integration." — The system now hears every emergency call in real time and dispatches resources automatically.
- "We're just deploying drones to help officers." — The drones launch automatically from the police station rooftop, fly to incidents before officers arrive, and transmit live video.
- "We don't use facial recognition." — Yet the department has formally adopted a written Facial Recognition Policy, obtained via public records request, governing technology it publicly claims not to use.
Each step alone sounds reasonable. Taken together, they describe a fundamentally different relationship between the city and its residents than the one approved in 2020.
What Cannot Be Verified
Several questions remain unanswered in public records as of this page's compilation:
- The FAA does not publicly list a Beyond Visual Line of Sight waiver or Certificate of Authorization in the city's name — raising the question of whether the drones operate under a vendor-held waiver, and what that means for accountability.
- The city has not publicly reconciled its statement that it "does not use facial recognition" with the existence of a written departmental policy governing facial recognition.
- The procurement process for the Flock contract, including whether competitive bidding was followed, has not been published in any public-facing document this page's authors could locate.
Why This Matters
This is not an argument that the police should not have tools. Stolen cars get recovered. Wanted suspects get caught. The original Guardian Shield program had a measurable record of legitimate successes, and that record is included in the timeline below.
The argument is narrower and more important: residents of Mt. Juliet have a right to know what surveillance infrastructure operates in their city, who controls it, what data it collects, who can access that data, and under what authority it operates. They have a right to ask whether a single commission vote was the appropriate procedural mechanism for an expansion of this scale. They have a right to the answers to the questions listed above.
The facts on the rest of this page are documented and sourced. The questions raised are the ones the city has not answered. Read it. Verify it yourself. Then decide whether what is being deployed in your name reflects what you believe Mt. Juliet should be.
Timeline of Surveillance Expansion
The Mt. Juliet Police Department selected Rekor Systems to provide its Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) program, branded "Guardian Shield." The system was approved by city leadership.
The Rekor-based LPR system began operating. Within weeks it had contributed to over 30 interceptions and arrests.
MJPD reported the program had surpassed 100 interceptions, including 57 stolen cars, 30 stolen license plates, and 2 stolen trailers recovered.
Mt. Juliet PD extended its contract with Rekor Systems for the Guardian Shield Program.
Deputy Chief Tyler Chandler announced MJPD would switch from Rekor to Flock Safety. The new contract included 80 LPR cameras across the community — a substantial expansion from the original Guardian Shield deployment.
Mt. Juliet city commissioners approved a program adding more LPR technology, access to private business surveillance footage, drones, and artificial intelligence.
MJPD announced two emergency response drones would be mounted atop the new headquarters in 2026, providing real-time video to dispatchers within 30–45 seconds of a 911 call. The system uses Flock Safety drones.
MJPD rolled out Flock911 technology, integrating real-time 911 audio with the camera network. The deployment coincided with the Cedar Creek Marina shooting.
What Was Originally Approved: Guardian Shield (Rekor, 2020)
The program originally approved by Mt. Juliet was a license plate recognition system from Rekor Systems, a Nasdaq-listed company (REKR). It was designed to:
- Read license plates of vehicles entering or passing through the city
- Match plates against state and federal stolen-vehicle databases and active warrants
- Alert officers when a flagged plate was detected
The Rekor system, according to its 2020 announcement, used "plug-and-play" cameras with up to 99% reading accuracy. The system did not include drones, real-time 911 integration, audio detection, business camera integration, or AI-driven crime prediction.
What Replaced It: Flock Safety (2025–2026)
In June 2025, MJPD announced a switch from Rekor to Flock Safety. While the public-facing reason given was lower cost and improved accuracy, the actual scope of the new system represents a substantial expansion of capabilities. Flock Safety's product suite, as advertised on the company's own website, includes:
License Plate Readers (LPR)
80 cameras across Mt. Juliet, up from the original Guardian Shield deployment. Source: WKRN, June 5, 2025.
Flock911 (Real-time 911 Integration)
Officers and the camera system receive 911 audio in real time. Source: WKRN, January 2026.
Drones as First Responder (DFR)
Two emergency-response drones mounted on MJPD headquarters, deployed automatically to 911 calls within 30–45 seconds. Source: WSMV, November 2025.
Business Surveillance Integration
Direct access to private business surveillance footage was approved as part of the expanded program. Source: WKRN, June 19, 2025.
National LPR Network
Flock cameras are part of a national interconnected network. Plate reads from Mt. Juliet are searchable by other Flock-using agencies, and vice versa. Source: Flock Safety product page.
Drones & FAA Compliance
Flock Safety's "Drone as First Responder" (DFR) program, as deployed in Mt. Juliet, requires specific FAA authorizations to operate legally. There are three primary regulatory frameworks involved:
1. Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
Any commercial drone operation in the U.S. requires the operator to hold an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. This is a baseline requirement.
2. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Waiver
For drones to be deployed automatically to 911 calls without a pilot in direct visual contact, the operating agency must hold either:
- A Part 107.31 BVLOS Waiver, or
- A Public Safety Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the FAA
Per FAA regulations (14 CFR 107.31), the remote pilot or designated visual observer must maintain visual contact with the drone at all times unless a waiver has been granted. Source: FAA.gov.
3. Aircraft Registration
All drones over 0.55 lbs must be registered with the FAA. Source: FAA Drone Registration.
Flock Safety's Vendor-Held Waivers
Flock Safety, through its acquisition of Aerodome, advertises that its DFR program "Includes FAA waivers, installation, training, and ongoing success." Source: Flock Safety website. Whether MJPD's drone operations rely on Flock-held waivers or city-held waivers is a question of public-records record.
Who Has Access: The Sharing List
According to the Mt. Juliet PD Flock Safety Transparency Portal — the city's own public-facing disclosure — at least 10 outside organizations have been granted access to Mt. Juliet's Guardian Shield data. The list, as published by the city's vendor, includes federal agencies, out-of-region police departments hundreds of miles from Mt. Juliet, and university campus police forces.
🗺️ View Camera Locations Map →
Organizations With Access to Mt. Juliet's Data
Per the Mt. Juliet TN PD Transparency Portal (last accessed May 2026), the following organizations are listed under "Sharing Network Data With — Organizations granted access to Mt. Juliet TN PD data":
| Organization | Type | Approximate Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Valley Authority Police | Federal agency | Multi-state jurisdiction |
| Tennessee Bureau of Investigation | State agency | Statewide |
| Bedford County TN Sheriff's Office | County law enforcement | ~75 miles south |
| Town of Bean Station PD | Municipal police (East TN) | ~225 miles east |
| East Tennessee State University Campus PD | University campus police | ~285 miles east |
| Middle Tennessee State University PD | University campus police | ~35 miles southwest |
| Nashville International Airport PD | Airport police | ~20 miles west |
| Northeast State Community College | Community college (East TN) | ~270 miles east |
| University of Memphis PD | University campus police | ~210 miles west |
| University of Tennessee PD | University campus police | ~180 miles east |
Distances are approximate, calculated to the agency's primary jurisdiction. The list above is reproduced as published on the Flock transparency portal as of May 2026 and may have been expanded or modified since.
What the City Said vs. What the Sharing List Shows
The city's stated position on Guardian Shield data access has been that the system is operated by and for the Mt. Juliet Police Department. The original 2020 announcement positioned the program as a tool for "the department" to "guard and shield Mt. Juliet's residents and visitors." Source: Mt. Juliet Police Newsroom, January 2020.
The Flock transparency portal currently states that data is "used for law enforcement purposes only" and "owned by Mt. Juliet TN PD and is never sold to 3rd parties." Source: Mt. Juliet TN PD Transparency Portal.
Whether residents understood, when Guardian Shield was approved, that their license plate data would be searchable by university police departments hundreds of miles away, by federal Tennessee Valley Authority Police, and by other municipal agencies across the state — is a question that has not been put before voters in any documented public hearing this page's authors could locate.
The Broader National LPR Network
The 10 named organizations above are the agencies with which Mt. Juliet has affirmatively granted data access. Separately, Flock Safety also operates a National LPR Network, allowing participating agencies to query plate-read data across the country. Whether MJPD participates in this broader network — and which additional agencies may therefore be able to query Mt. Juliet plate reads through the national network — is a question that requires additional documentation to answer definitively. Residents may include this question in any public records request.
EFF Documentation: Out-of-State Use of Flock Data
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has documented specific cases where Flock Safety data has been used by law enforcement agencies in ways that the originating jurisdictions did not intend or authorize. In one documented case, Texas deputies queried Flock data as part of an abortion investigation while telling Flock the search was for a "missing person." Source: EFF, October 2025.
Whether Mt. Juliet has any technical or contractual mechanism to audit how the 10 sharing partners listed above use the data they receive from Guardian Shield is, again, a question that requires public records to answer.
Comparing the Officious Page to the Transparency Portal
Mt. Juliet's officious Guardian Shield page makes specific claims about data sharing. Each claim is reproduced verbatim below alongside what the city's own Flock transparency portal documents:
Claim: "MJPD has sole access and ownership to 100% of its data."
Source: mtjuliet-tn.gov/1561/Guardian-Shield-ALPR
Compare to: The Flock transparency portal lists 10 outside organizations under "Sharing Network Data With — Organizations granted access to Mt. Juliet TN PD data." "Sole access" and "10 outside organizations have access" are distinguishable claims.
Claim: "MJPD currently does not share with any federal agency."
Source: mtjuliet-tn.gov/1561/Guardian-Shield-ALPR
Compare to: The Flock transparency portal lists "[Federal] Tennessee Valley Authority Police" as the first organization under the sharing list. The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation; its police force is a federal law enforcement agency under 16 U.S.C. § 831c-3.
Claim: "Personally Identifiable Information... is not collected. The system only collects images of vehicles, vehicle characteristics, and license plates."
Source: mtjuliet-tn.gov/1561/Guardian-Shield-ALPR
Compare to: A license plate, when run against state databases (which the city says it does not do directly but which connected agencies can do), is a unique identifier tied to a registered owner. The downstream identification of the vehicle owner is well-established. Whether the act of collecting the plate is collection of PII is a definitional argument; whether the system enables identification of individuals is empirically demonstrable from every press release in which a suspect is named after an LPR alert.
Claim: "[ALPRs] do not track vehicles in their whole movements."
Source: mtjuliet-tn.gov/1561/Guardian-Shield-ALPR
Compare to: With approximately 80 cameras placed at every major arterial entering, leaving, and crossing Mt. Juliet (see the camera locations map), and with Flock's "retroactive search" feature allowing officers to query all reads of a given plate over the 30-day retention window, the system in practice creates a substantially complete travel history for any vehicle that drives in or through Mt. Juliet during that window. Whether this constitutes "tracking whole movements" depends on how the term is defined.
Policy vs. Practice: Are Intercepts Being Logged?
The Mt. Juliet Police Department maintains a publicly accessible Google Sheet titled "Guardian Shield Data" for logging Guardian Shield ALPR alerts and the corresponding officer actions. The sheet is referenced on MJPD's own Guardian Shield page and contains columns for date, alert reason, summary of the event, and suspect demographic data.
Public Spreadsheet: Guardian Shield Data Log (Google Sheets)
Policy Reference: Guardian Shield ALPR Program (Officious MJPD Page)
What the Public Log Currently Shows
As of this page's compilation, the most recent entries in the public Guardian Shield Data spreadsheet are:
| Date | Alert Reason | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| January 10, 2026 | Investigative Alert / Wanted Person | Black Mitsubishi Eclipse from attempted Spring Hill robbery, suspect detained at Walmart parking lot |
| January 8, 2026 | Stolen Vehicle / Wanted Person | Stolen GMC Envoy from Lawrence County, suspect arrested at Slim Chickens |
| November 22, 2025 | Stolen Vehicle / Wanted / Drugs | Stolen Hyundai Santa Fe from Carter County, suspect arrested at Lowes |
| October 29, 2025 | Wanted Person | Domestic assault suspect intercepted before reaching victim's residence |
Source: Guardian Shield Data spreadsheet, accessed for this page.
What Has Been Publicly Reported Since January 10, 2026
In the same period during which no new entries have appeared in the public log, multiple Guardian Shield interceptions have been publicly announced or reported in news media:
- March 1, 2026 — "Mt. Juliet, TN LPR system helps police make multiple weekend arrests." Multiple arrests overnight, attributed to Guardian Shield. Source: WKRN News 2.
- May 2026 — "Nashville Man Arrested After Mt. Juliet LPR Alert." Photo harassment suspect intercepted via Guardian Shield. Source: NewsChannel 5.
- May 10, 2026 — "Two arrested after LPR alerts Mt. Juliet officers to stolen license tag." Source: WSMV 4 Nashville.
- May 16, 2026 — "Wanted man allegedly found with meth after license plate reader flagged officers in Mt. Juliet." Source: WSMV 4 Nashville.
In addition, residents subscribed to MJ Alert have received an unknown but substantially larger number of real-time Guardian Shield notification pushes during this same period.
These are facts. The conclusion to be drawn from them is left to the reader. If logging the system's use is part of the program's transparency framework — as the existence of the public spreadsheet suggests — then a four-month gap between the most recent entry and the date of this page is itself information that residents are entitled to evaluate.
Possible explanations include: (1) the public spreadsheet has been migrated to a new location not yet publicized, (2) the department has internally suspended the logging requirement, (3) entries are being held pending review and will be published in batch, (4) MJ Alert notifications and news reports are not Guardian Shield-attributed despite their phrasing, or (5) the policy is no longer being followed as written. None of these explanations have been publicly offered by the city to date.
How to Verify or Question This Yourself
- Open the Guardian Shield Data spreadsheet and check the most recent entry date for yourself.
- Review MJPD's Guardian Shield ALPR program page and the MJPD Newsroom Guardian Shield archive for publicly announced interceptions.
- If you receive MJ Alert push notifications, archive the Guardian Shield-related ones and compare against the spreadsheet for matching entries.
- File a public records request for the internal log covering all Guardian Shield alerts from January 11, 2026 to the present, and ask why the public spreadsheet has not been updated. Submit via the NextRequest portal.
- Raise the question in public comment at the next Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners meeting.
Facial Recognition: Statements vs. Documented Policy
Mt. Juliet's public-facing Flock transparency portal makes a specific claim about what the technology does and does not do:
Public statements by city officials in early 2026 reportedly reinforced this position — that MJPD does not employ facial recognition technology.
Possible explanations include: (1) the policy is preparatory for future adoption, (2) the policy governs facial recognition technology used by partner agencies whose data MJPD accesses, (3) the technology is used in limited circumstances not disclosed in public statements, or (4) the public statement and the policy refer to different scopes of "use." None of these explanations have been publicly offered by the city to date.
Residents in possession of the policy document are encouraged to share it publicly to enable independent verification, and to request that the city publicly explain the apparent inconsistency between its public statements and its written policy.
Why This Matters
Facial recognition technology has been the subject of documented wrongful-arrest cases. As of April 2026, the ACLU has documented at least fourteen people in the United States wrongfully arrested due to police reliance on facial recognition, including individuals who spent months in jail for crimes they did not commit. Source: ACLU, April 2026.
The Tennessee Attorney General has separately supported a lawsuit asserting that facial recognition technology used by Tennessee state police violates privacy rights. Source: Louisville Public Media, March 2026.
National Context: Flock Cameras Under Scrutiny
Mt. Juliet's adoption of Flock Safety has occurred against a backdrop of national pushback against the technology:
NPR: Cities Canceling Flock Contracts
NPR reported in February 2026 that residents in multiple American cities are urging local leaders to cancel Flock contracts, citing concerns about mass surveillance and federal data sharing.
EFF: Documented Surveillance Abuses
The Electronic Frontier Foundation documented in late 2025 that Flock's infrastructure has been used by law enforcement to track protesters, target Romani people with discriminatory searches, and surveil women seeking reproductive healthcare.
Washington Post: AI License Plate Cameras Lead to State of Emergency
A May 2026 Washington Post investigation documented how AI-assisted license plate readers have caused privacy concerns nationwide, leading to laws limiting their use in more than a dozen states.
Tennessee Petition
A Change.org petition titled "Remove Flock cameras to protect privacy in Tennessee" has been circulating, raising concerns about consent and continuous data collection.
Citizen Action: How to Verify These Facts Yourself
Every claim on this page is sourced. If you want to independently verify the police state in your community:
- File a Public Records Request with MJPD asking for: the current Flock Safety contract, the Facial Recognition Policy, the FAA waiver/COA under which drones operate, and the list of certified Part 107 pilots on staff. Use the Freedom of Information Gateway.
- Search the FAA Aircraft Registry at registry.faa.gov for drones registered to the City of Mt. Juliet.
- Search the FAA Part 107 Waivers Issued list at faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers/waivers_issued for any waivers held by the city.
- Attend a Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners meeting. Public comment is the standard mechanism for raising concerns. Schedule available at Officious Proceedings & Redactions.
- Review the Flock transparency portal at transparency.flocksafety.com/mt-juliet-tn-pd and compare its claims to the actual contract.
Source List
- Mt. Juliet Police Newsroom — Rekor Selected for Guardian Shield (Jan 2020)
- AP News — Rekor Selected by Mt. Juliet PD (Jan 2020)
- Route Fifty — Tennessee town rolls out LPR (July 2020)
- Mt. Juliet PD — 100 Interceptions (Feb 2021)
- Investing.com — Rekor Contract Extension (Jan 2024)
- WKRN News 2 — MJPD Switching to Flock (June 5, 2025)
- WKRN News 2 — More LPR, Cameras, Drones Coming (June 19, 2025)
- WSMV — Drones for Real-time 911 Video (Nov 2025)
- WKRN News 2 — Flock911 Rollout (Jan 2026)
- Mt. Juliet PD Flock Transparency Portal
- Mt. Juliet Officious Guardian Shield ALPR Page (City Website)
- Guardian Shield Data Spreadsheet (Public Log)
- MJPD Newsroom Guardian Shield Archive
- WKRN — LPR System Multiple Weekend Arrests (March 2026)
- WSMV — Two Arrested After LPR Alert (May 10, 2026)
- WSMV — Wanted Man Found with Meth via LPR (May 16, 2026)
- NewsChannel 5 — Nashville Man Arrested via Guardian Shield (May 2026)
- Flock Safety — Drone as First Responder
- Flock Safety — Aerodome / Automated Drone Security
- FAA — Part 107 Waivers Overview
- FAA — Waivers Issued (Public List)
- FAA — Drone Registration Requirements
- ACLU — Wrongful Arrests from Facial Recognition (April 2026)
- Louisville Public Media — TN AG on Facial Recognition (March 2026)
- NPR — Cities Canceling Flock (February 2026)
- EFF — Flock Surveillance Abuses (December 2025)
- Washington Post — AI LPR State of Emergency (May 2026)
* This page is a factual compilation drawn from public news reports and officious records. Where facts could not be verified, that is stated explicitly.
* The Municipality has not been contacted for comment prior to publication of this compilation. The City's positions on these matters are reflected through their published statements and transparency portal entries.
* Corrections, clarifications, and additional verifiable facts are welcomed and may be submitted via the Freedom of Information Gateway.
* Last updated: based on public records available as of May 2026.