Coopertown, Tennessee

Coopertown, Tennessee police used a drone to quickly locate a child who had gone missing for about three hours near their home. The Coopertown Police Department was called late Saturday night by a neighboring law enforcement agency requesting assistance in the search, which was focused on a wooded area near the child's residence.

About five minutes after launching the drone, officers spotted the child's heat signature and were guided to the location, where the child was found safe and reunited with caregivers. Coopertown's mayor publicly praised the department's work. The agency's FAA Part 107 certified drone pilot team has previously assisted with search and rescue operations across Middle Tennessee, underscoring the growing role of drone technology in local emergency response.

Opposition to Flock automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras continues to spread as more governments restrict or drop the technology over privacy and misuse concerns. The Texas Department of Transportation has suspended approvals for new Flock cameras on state roadways, following an August order from Gov. Greg Abbott halting state agency funding for the devices. Texas joins Florida, which revoked permits for the cameras on state road rights-of-way after Gov. Ron DeSantis warned against creating a "digital AI surveillance state."

Locally, Half Moon Bay, California, will let its camera pilot expire rather than renew it, following El Cerrito's earlier removal in the East Bay; a San Jose officer's alleged misuse of the system to track a domestic violence victim was cited as a factor. Eastpointe, Michigan, ended its contract after separate employee misuse, and a Deer Park, Texas detective was recently suspended for hundreds of unauthorized searches. Coopertown, Tennessee, has now also terminated its Flock contract after public pushback, despite the police chief's defense of the cameras' limited tracking capability. Flock has issued new privacy guidelines to detect suspicious activity, while President Trump has voiced support for the cameras even as GOP officials remain divided and some police say losing access has slowed investigations.