‘Darth Vader’ uses dark side to mock controversial surveillance cameras: 'The Emperor is a fan of Flock'

A man dressed up as the "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader showed up at a San Diego City Council meeting to mockingly defend Flock police surveillance cameras, telling council members "this is what the emperor needs." He approached the podium at the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee meeting on Wednesday, complete with Darth Vader's trademark heavy breathing heard through the council chamber’s microphone.

The committee members even addressed the man as ‘Darth Vader’ as he appeared to mock the Flock-linked surveillance system, suggesting the surveillance tool could be an asset to the dark side.

"This is what the emperor needs.

This technology will help us find the rebel scum and the hidden base on Hoth," the man said, referring to the frozen planet from "The Empire Strikes Back." FLOCK SURVEILLANCE SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS RED-STATE LAWMAKERS SEEK TO AX '1984'-STYLE TRACKING TOOLS He said the technology "will help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-Wing.

This technology is a necessary, necessary force." "The Emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum as they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium, because we all know that the Flock cameras are not only following the license plate readers , they are following children," he said.

He added that he needs the cameras "so I can stalk my ex-girlfriend." Addressing City Council member Jennifer Campbell, the man said she needs to work on her Jedi mind tricks.

"And how will the people trust this City Council when this City Council continues to vote for surveillance technology that imprisons them? Ms.

Campbell, you must work on your Jedi mind tricks," he said before waving his hand to the audience.

In December 2025, the San Diego Police Department signed a one-year pilot agreement for Flock Nova, a separate investigative platform designed to integrate data from various sources.

The department later said it was not using the platform and did not plan to integrate its license plate reader data into it.

SDPD later told Axios it was not using the platform and did not plan to integrate its license plate reader data into it.

LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS AT HOME DEPOT AND LOWE’S SPARK PRIVACY FEARS Local activists and some city officials have called for alternatives as public criticism of the cameras continues to mount in communities across the country, Axios reported.

SDPD uses Flock automated license plate recognition cameras at approximately 500 locations citywide, according to the department’s 2025 annual surveillance report.