Rochester Hills, Michigan

The Rochester Hills City Council unanimously approved a three-year, $183,000 contract with Flock Safety, despite vocal opposition from nearly 50 residents at the meeting. Councilmember Marvie Neubauer's amendment shifted oversight to the public safety and infrastructure technical review committee, requiring quarterly reviews of data usage. Supporters, including Oakland County Sheriff's Capt. Paul Workman, cited the cameras' role in solving two homicides and locating missing people, and noted deputies' searches are limited to template-based queries.

Critics raised Fourth Amendment concerns, data-sharing risks with ICE, and a pending investigation into a former deputy accused of leaking Flock data to immigration officials. The city currently operates 17 of a possible 20 Flock cameras. Elsewhere, scrutiny of Flock contracts continues: Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Indiana, have dropped the vendor, and Indianapolis is weighing a surveillance-regulation ordinance alongside debate over whether to cancel its own Flock contract.

Rochester Hills City Council is set to consider renewing a three-year, $183,000 contract with Flock Group, which supplies automated license plate readers used by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for local policing. A sheriff's captain has recommended renewal, and the city has nearly two dozen Flock cameras in operation.

The technology, which logs vehicle details in a searchable database, has drawn criticism over Fourth Amendment concerns and documented misuse elsewhere in Oakland County, including unauthorized immigration-related searches. More than a dozen southeast Michigan communities have ended their Flock contracts amid similar pushback, while nearby Pontiac plans to decide after its November election.

Two Michigan residents face terrorism charges in separate cases involving threats against elected officials, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced.

Anthony Dekinderen, 61, of Lake Orion, allegedly emailed a Michigan journalist threats to kill members of the Michigan Supreme Court, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. He faces nine counts of false report or threat of terrorism, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was arraigned September 19 with bond set at $5 million, requiring GPS monitoring if posted.

Alicia Choucair, 33, of Roseville, is accused of threatening a dispatcher with violence against Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud unless "her people" were kept out of the city. She faces two counts of false report or threat of terrorism, a computer crime count, and a hate crime charge, and was arraigned September 17 with bond set at $20,000.

Nessel, who created the state's Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit in 2019, said threats against officials are becoming more common and will be prosecuted fully. Both defendants await probable-cause conferences.

Some Michigan Republican officials and candidates are voicing concern about their party's prospects in the November election, citing surging gas and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran and signs of flagging GOP voter enthusiasm. Former state Rep. Pam Hornberger called the fight to keep the state House majority a "huge struggle" and said Republicans have little chance of flipping a key state Senate seat in suburban Detroit. A Marquette County GOP chairman described local volunteer enthusiasm as at "all time lows," and a former 5th District GOP chairman estimated a fifth of Trump's base may sit out the election or vote Democratic.

Republicans currently hold a narrow 58-52 state House majority, while Democrats control the state Senate 20-18. GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers has proposed suspending fuel taxes to ease costs. Other Republicans, including Rep. Mark Tisdel and former Rep. Rocky Raczkowski, offered more mixed assessments, acknowledging a difficult political environment tied to affordability concerns and the desire among voters for checks on unified Republican control in Washington.

Republican U.S. House candidate Michael Bouchard released his first general election video ad, "Jump," in which the former Army paratrooper leaps from a plane while pledging to fight socialism if elected to represent Michigan's 10th District. The Rochester Hills candidate's campaign says the ad is part of a seven-figure television and social media push, funded entirely with campaign money, in a race political handicappers rate as a toss-up.

Bouchard will face Democratic nominee Christina Hines, a former Wayne County special victims prosecutor, in November. The winner succeeds GOP Rep. John James, who is running for Michigan governor instead of seeking reelection. The 10th District covers southern Macomb County and Rochester/Rochester Hills in Oakland County.

The ad is set to air during major sports broadcasts and prime programming, with some slots costing tens of thousands of dollars. Bouchard holds an early fundraising edge, reporting roughly $960,000 on hand versus Hines's approximately $160,000, though her campaign has yet to release its first ad.