In Phone Call, Brian Walsh Told Flock Safety ‘It’s Gonna Get Done’

In a recorded phone call with Flock Safety on Feb. 5, Pine Plains Town Supervisor Brian Walsh described how he sought to contain mounting public backlash over a previously undisclosed two-year, $80,000 surveillance contract — and assured the company that, despite opposition, “it’s gonna get done.”

An audio recording of the call was provided to The New Pine Plains Herald by a source who requested anonymity. The recording captures Walsh speaking four days before an emergency Town Board meeting at which he declared the agreement “null and void” as of Feb. 3 and acknowledged it had not followed “proper protocol.”

At the time of the call, residents had begun questioning why wooden stakes and pink spray paint had appeared at four locations across Pine Plains — markings tied to the planned installation of automated license-plate reader cameras manufactured by Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based surveillance technology company whose systems capture and store images of passing vehicles for law enforcement use.

On the call, a company representative sought clarification about an email Walsh had sent instructing Flock to halt activity.

“Um, it seems like at this point, like, let’s just press pause if I’m hearing you correctly?” the representative asked.

“Yes,” Walsh replied.

He then framed the backlash in political terms.

“They’re not happy in regards to the basically older brother looking over the shoulder kind of thing. Especially the way the, uh — nationally — we are right now. I think we’re a decent blue area right now, unfortunately. So they’re not in favor of it at this time.”

Walsh suggested the pause was temporary and that Dutchess County officials would ultimately support the project.

“Now, if, when Stevie, sorry, Sgt. Camburn, gets uh, together with the D.A. and the Sheriff’s office and everything, and when that works out, it’s not gonna be a — well, you can’t do this kind of stuff — but it’s gonna get done, because the county will be behind it, too,” Walsh said. “So, just, as of right now, it’s not… It’s not the greatest time to do it.”

The agreement, signed Feb. 25, 2025, between the Pine Plains Police Department and Flock Safety, authorized the installation of 11 automated license-plate reader cameras across town. Public acknowledgment of the contract did not occur until the Feb. 9 emergency meeting — nearly a year after it was executed.

The contract was signed by Sgt. Michael Beliveau, whose resignation from the department was approved in July 2025.

Beliveau previously told the Herald he did not have authority to execute the agreement independently and does not recall who else may have been involved.

“If I signed anything, I 100% did not do it on my own,” Beliveau said. “I had to have contact and permission from somebody to do it. I wouldn’t take it upon myself to sign anything on my own. I can’t stress that enough.”

Under town law, equipment purchased by the police department is town property and subject to Town Board budget approval. There had been no public discussion of the agreement, nor had funds been approved by the board.

On the Feb. 5 call, Walsh acknowledged that the visible site markings had intensified public opposition.

“I had no idea that stuff was yet marked out, and how the whole process worked and everything,” he said. “People are flipping a lid around here.”

He described how he addressed the situation publicly.

“So basically, I pushed it off like it was an accidental thing.”

Referring to Beliveau, he added: “He retired and moved on and everything. So I was able to use that card as far as that, too.”

Near the end of the call, Walsh directed Flock to route communications through Sgt. Steve Camburn rather than through his office.

“Then if I need to get — if he needs to get me in at some point — then he can bring me in at some point,” Walsh said.

In the recording, Walsh suggested the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office would ultimately support the project.

In a Feb. 6 email, District Attorney Anthony Parisi sought to distinguish the Pine Plains contract from broader county initiatives involving Flock technology.

“We would never deploy technology or resources into any community without first engaging local residents, municipal leadership, and other stakeholders, and without clearly explaining the purpose, scope, and limits of any such initiative,” Parisi said.

“The site surveys conducted by Flock Safety in the Town of Pine Plains are not the result of, nor are they connected to, the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, or ARTCIC,” Parisi added. “After researching the matter, I have confirmed directly through Flock Safety that these site surveys are tied to a contract entered into by the Town of Pine Plains and/or the Pine Plains Police Department directly with Flock Safety, independent of any county-level real-time crime center effort.”

Sgt. Camburn said in an interview Feb. 18 that he began handling communications with Flock at the end of December, several months after Beliveau stepped down.

“He told them that I was taking over as sergeant,” Camburn said, referring to Walsh.

Camburn said the department had told Flock it was “waiting on the county” to determine whether any installations would overlap with county-operated cameras. Asked whether he had met with county officials in February, he said, “No, because I don’t think there was a meeting.”

He emphasized that the department could not proceed independently.

“We can’t do it as a department,” Camburn said. “We got to have the town backing.”

Asked about the recording on Feb. 17, Walsh confirmed he spoke with Flock Safety but said he did not recall making several of the remarks attributed to him.

“I don’t know why I would say that if I said that. Because there’s no card to be played,” he said.

“I honestly don’t know that much about Flock or what these things do, and that’s the God’s honest truth. That is in the police realm,” Walsh said. “If the police want to do a project, usually the departments gather information and bring it to our attention if needed. We’re not here to micromanage each department. Nor do I feel we should micromanage any department.”

Walsh acknowledged meeting one-on-one with Flock Safety last February and discussing a demonstration.

“Originally what was proposed was, I believe, nine cameras. I said, why are you going to demo nine cameras? There’s no need for that. Maybe you can demo four.”

Four locations were marked on Feb. 3.

Walsh said he understood the demonstration to be free and maintained that the town could not afford a permanent system.

“I’m well aware our town could not afford something like this right now,” Walsh said. “This is a big magnitude thing, dollars and cents wise. I don’t know where I would pull the money from. Everything’s accounted for. Our budget is tight.”

At the Feb. 9 emergency meeting, Walsh acknowledged that the contract had not been discussed or approved by the Town Supervisor or the Town Board, “which would have been proper protocol.”

On Feb. 17, he told the Herald: “Ultimately, the buck stops at the supervisor’s office. It ultimately comes back to me, so I take full responsibility regardless.”

The Pine Plains Town Board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19.