by Beth Kassab | Nov 3, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety
A teenager was walking in his neighborhood. Then police handcuffed him. Now he’s suing Winter Park
A federal lawsuit filed last month alleges Winter Park police violated the teen’s rights after an off-duty patrol spotted him walking with friends in Windsong, where he lived
Nov. 3, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
On a Friday night last year, Winter Park Police Lt. David Graham was driving an unmarked police car with tinted windows while working an off-duty private security patrol in the Windsong neighborhood when something caught his attention.
Graham spotted three teenagers walking on the sidewalk near a house under construction.
The teenagers ran off — except for one. A 16-year-old who lived in the neighborhood couldn’t keep pace with his friends because he was hobbling in a medical boot for a broken ankle.
Lukas Balint was questioned, handcuffed and placed in a Winter Park Police car as multiple units responded to the scene near the partially built house at Genius Drive and Balmoral Road. Lukas, who was never taken to jail or charged with a crime, was returned to his parents, who thanked Graham for keeping their neighborhood safe.
Twenty months later, Lukas, now an 18-year-old high school student, is suing the city of Winter Park, Graham and five other police officers. Lukas is the sole plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed Oct. 1 by NeJame Law Firm.
The federal lawsuit alleges that police violated Lukas’ constitutional rights by conducting an unreasonable seizure and using excessive force.
“On the night of the incident, Lukas was merely walking in his neighborhood with friends. They broke no laws, caused no chaos, and were simply doing what we want all our teenagers to do,” NeJame Law Firm said in a statement. “Within moments, Lukas was ambushed by an undercover police vehicle and terrorized by multiple Winter Park Police Department officers. The off-duty officer hired by the homeowners association unlawfully created a situation that led to Lukas being handcuffed, detained, and placed in the back of a police car for over half an hour so that at least four separate officers could aggressively question Lukas about having committed a non-existent criminal offense.”
The city of Winter Park declined to comment because of the pending litigation.
An image from Winter Park Police body cam footage captures part of the response to teens walking in the Windsong neighborhood near a home under construction in 2025. The stop is now the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in October.
Lukas is the son of a prominent Winter Park family. His mother is Dr. Lynda Balint, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and his father is Nathan Balint, a corporate lawyer specializing in mergers, acquisitions and private equity. His father was named one of the Orlando Business Journal’s “Most Influential Men” in 2012, according to his company’s website.
The Balints declined to speak with the Winter Park Voice, although their attorney answered questions and provided a statement.
The lawsuit also alleges false imprisonment and battery, claiming that an officer handcuffed Lukas and directed him into the back of a police car, among other complaints.
According to the federal complaint, Lukas and his friends did nothing wrong when he was stopped at about 10 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2025.
“Before Graham activated emergency lights or identified himself as an officer, Lukas and his friends had no obligation to remain near the unidentified vehicle, answer questions, or make themselves available for a police encounter. Their movement away from an unknown vehicle did not create reasonable suspicion,” the lawsuit said. “After Graham identified himself and commanded Lukas to stop, Lukas immediately complied. Lukas did not flee, resist, threaten an officer, reach toward a weapon, enter a building, discard property, conceal evidence, or engage in conduct corroborating any suspected offense. His compliance dissipated rather than strengthened any objectively reasonable concern.”
The police report noted that “over the last year or so both night shifts and detail units have had similar incidents/contact with these juveniles,” but did not elaborate on those interactions.
Through a public records request, the Voice obtained police body-camera footage capturing Lukas’ interactions with Graham and other officers. The teenager was questioned under the glare of flashing police lights. Lukas wore a white hooded Nike sweatshirt and pajama pants.
“Where’s your friends at?” Graham demanded, apparently concerned that the teenagers had sneaked onto the construction site, according to the body-camera footage.
“What friends?” Lukas replied.
“We’re going to talk about burglary, trespassing, all that stuff,” Graham said. “We’re not playing this game where you’re going to be dumb and not know what you’re doing. You were trying to hide from me for some reason, and that’s what I’m trying to figure out right now.”
Lukas said his friends weren’t hiding but must have gone back home.
Minutes later, Lukas was ordered to put his hands behind his back. He was handcuffed and placed in a police car.
Graham called for backup to help find the other two teenagers, who had disappeared. Officers searched the construction site with flashlights but did not appear to find anyone, according to the body-camera footage.
Later that same night, police also visited the parents of one of the other teenagers, who lived in the neighborhood.
Several officers stood outside the police car and spoke with Lukas, who was in the back seat.
Graham told Lukas that hiding from law enforcement “was a red flag. That’s not what normal people do.”
“You see the blue lights flashing, that’s why I turn them on, to make sure when I get out of my car, you know that I’m the police. And then at that point you’re gone … It gives me the belief that you are up to something that’s not appropriate this time of night,” Graham said. “It’s unusual. How many other people are out here walking around and then hiding from cops? How many? No one else.”
Lukas tried to protest, but Graham cut him off.
“Lukas, quit trying to mitigate what you did and understand that I know what happened. You are a bunch of kids. I was a kid too, but don’t lie to me about what you’re doing,” Graham said.
Another officer later told Lukas, “Just take it as a learning experience. We were all 16 once … character building.”
The body-camera footage captured officers speaking in frustrated tones. The exchange sounded more like a lecture than a screaming match, and no one appeared to use physical force against Lukas.
At times, Lukas’ responses were difficult to hear and sounded muffled on the recording. He appeared to be expressing concerns about how police had treated him when a female officer asked, “How was tonight rough?”
Lukas, who is white, clearly mentioned George Floyd, although the full context of his remarks is difficult to make out. Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, was killed in 2020 after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. His death sparked protests across the country.
“There’s no similarities between that situation and this situation,” the Winter Park officer responded.
Lukas complained about being handcuffed and not being allowed to call his parents.
“To me, it’s kind of traumatizing,” he said.
The officer dismissed his concerns.
“What’s traumatizing for you might not be traumatizing for me,” she said. “We all perceive things differently.”
Asked about Lukas’ reference to Floyd, his attorneys said in a statement:
“In the moment, Lukas was handcuffed, unlawfully placed in the back of a police vehicle while in a cast due to a broken ankle, and then was barraged by numerous police officers. In a moment, Lukas went from walking in his neighborhood with friends to being unlawfully detained, placed in a police car for nothing, and answering the same aggressive and unnecessary questions from several different police officers. He felt nothing short of terror as he tried to comprehend what was happening.”
Graham also spoke with Lukas’ parents before police returned him to their custody.
The body-camera footage showed the Balints sounding concerned but calm, and even expressing support for the police.
“That’s the one thing I try to instill in my own child is that whatever you do, don’t lie about it,” Graham told them.
“Exactly – especially to police officers,” Lukas’ mother said. “We live in Windsong, so we appreciate you doing a patrol.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Graham said. “I’ll let you all do your magic as parents and then we’ll go from there.”
“You probably have more magic than we do,” Lukas’ mother said, prompting the adults to chuckle.
“We have temporary magic,” Graham said. “But you have long-lasting magic with the kid. A lot more influence than we do.”
Lukas’ father, however, had more questions. He asked what the teenagers had been evasive about.
Graham described seeing the teenagers walking before they disappeared. He assumed they had entered the construction site, which he said was illegal.
“It’s a violation of law. Plus he’s absconding from law enforcement, which is another violation,” Graham said. “So these are just some things that made it unusual at that point for me, which is why I did at that point an investigatory stop on him.”
“That makes sense,” Lukas’ father said, adding that he appreciated the officer.
Graham also said Lukas had tried to call 911 “through Siri,” which, Graham said, could have resulted in a criminal charge for making a false report.
The Voice asked NeJame Law Firm how the Balints went from appearing to be understanding of the police during the encounter to filing a federal lawsuit 20 months later.
“For over a year, the Balints tried to resolve this matter amicably with the City of Winter Park without resorting to litigation. Only after the City refused to engage in meaningful dialogue about proactive measures the police department could implement to prevent unnecessary incidents like this in the future were the Balints left with the choice to either file suit or otherwise endorse these unconstitutional practices,” the law firm said. “Unfortunately, Lukas is not the first resident to be subjected to excessive detention practices.”
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by Beth Kassab | Oct 29, 2026 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety
After Viral Soccer Incident, Winter Park Commissioner Says Adults Must Set the Example
Nevada Pierre, just 3 years old, has amassed 1 million Instagram followers following an incident where police were called to MLK Park
Oct. 29, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Everyone from Jay-Z, the billionaire rapper and husband of Beyoncé, to Eddie Johnson, a former professional soccer player born in Florida, has weighed in on the buzz surrounding 3-year-old phenom Nevada Pierre.
But in Winter Park, where a police call over youth soccer became national news, the incident that unfolded last weekend at MLK Park raised a familiar concern: questionable behavior by adults at kids’ sporting events.
City Commissioner Craig Russell, who is also a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School, summed it up this way:
“The true measure of a great youth sports program isn’t how talented any of the kids are. It’s really how the adults model respect, sportsmanship, self-control and character, because kids should leave the playing field with life lessons,” Russell said from the dais Wednesday night. “I also just want to comment on how disappointed I am in all of the adults’ conduct who were involved in that incident. It’s unfortunate because kids are watching.”
Russell pointed to another incident earlier this year that also resulted in a police response at MLK Park. That incident occurred during a flag football game organized by a different youth league.
According to emails from a city parks official, the March incident involved a physical altercation described as “pushing and shoving” between two players in a league called Under the Lights. At least one coach also became involved.
“What occurred Friday should have resulted in the two players involved being ejected and the remainder of the two teams being allowed to continue the game,” Parks & Recreation Director Jason Seeley wrote to Commissioner Elizabeth Ingram after she inquired about the incident. “Instead, parents and coaches were not much better at self-control than the two adolescent boys involved in the initial dust-up.”
The city rents its athletic fields to youth leagues, whose directors are responsible for managing play and setting expectations for everyone involved — not just players, but also referees, parents, coaches and spectators.
The incident involving Pierre’s family occurred Saturday, when the director of an i9 Sports soccer league called 911 to report an “unruly parent.” He told the operator that it was not an emergency but urged her to dispatch officers quickly before the family left the field.
The incident has attracted widespread attention. An Instagram account called “@nevadaney10” features a number of videos of the child playing and has amassed 1 million followers, and a GoFundMe campaign started by someone who identified herself as the boy’s mother, Martasia Griffin, has drawn 2,000 contributions totaling more than $58,000. Celebrities have weighed in and offered to provide training for the boy.
Earlier this week, Winter Park police posted a recording of the 911 call and body-camera footage from two responding officers on the department’s website, seeking to address a growing barrage of questions about what happened.
“Upon arrival, officers encountered the parents, who were already in the process of leaving the park on their own accord,” the department said in a Facebook post. “… Despite some social media rumors, there was never any suggestion that the call to police was prompted over the child’s on-field talent.”
The body-camera footage shows that two officers arrived just before 10 a.m. Saturday.
They quickly contacted the league director who had called police. The director appeared to be on the phone with another league official, seeking guidance on whether he could ask the parents to leave.
The director told officers he had called because the child’s mother had become upset, followed him around and called him names.
He explained that the boy was far more advanced than the other children on the field. He and other adults helping run the league allowed the boy to play but periodically rotated him out of the game to give other children a chance to get the ball.
“The kid is good,” the director told police. “He’s great. Real good.”
“So what happened was he’s very advanced compared to the other ones, so he scores a lot of goals,” the director said. “But he pushes the kids and does that other stuff, so I try to tell them, ‘Don’t let him push. Play without pushing, right?’”
The director said the conflict had begun “a few weeks ago,” when he noticed the boy pushing other players and took him out of the game to give other children on the team a chance to play.
“They don’t like it,” he said of the parents’ reaction to his efforts to distribute playing time. “They tell me I’m ignorant and this and that.”
A few minutes before officers arrived, the director said, he had been watching the boy’s game when he noticed pushing and spoke to the referees. That, he said, led to what he described as a “big scene,” with Nevada’s parents “arguing with the other parents.”
The parents have disputed on social media that the child pushes other children.
“I just want them out,” he told police. He also asked whether the officers could help facilitate a refund of the registration fee the parents had paid.
The officers advised him that he did not have to allow the child to play, but the parents could not be forced to leave a public park.
A few moments later, the officers approached the parents.
“If you guys don’t mind leaving, it would be very much appreciated,” one officer told the mother.
“The game is over,” the mother responded. She then asked whether the league would be willing to refund their money.
The officer confirmed that the director was willing to issue a refund.
The mother asked why police had been called. One officer responded that he had been told the parents were causing a disturbance.
“How?” the mother asked. “They were all in a circle talking about my son, and I walked up, but he’s been doing weird things to my son because my son actually plays soccer. They’re mad at my son because he actually plays soccer. So I’m a little baffled and a little confused.”
One officer tried to explain the director’s perspective.
“He [the director] specifically mentioned that your son is very good, but he doesn’t like how the parents become aggressive when they try to do different coaching,” the officer said.
The boy’s father then expressed frustration, telling the officer that he had paid $300 and that every time his son scored a goal, “they take him out” of the game.
“He played like 10 minutes,” the father said, explaining that the family had arrived late for a 9:30 a.m. game scheduled to end at 10 a.m. He said his son had “touched the ball one time” that morning and that other adults involved in the league had “had a meeting about it.”
The officer tried to sympathize with the father and offer encouragement, saying, “I’m sure there are other leagues out there.”
The parents and their two children, including the 3-year-old boy, then began walking with the officers toward the park entrance so they could provide the mother with documentation of the police call, which she had requested.
“He can pass the ball, but every time he passes, they lose it, so I just tell him, ‘Do what you got to do,’” the father said.
The parents tried to approach the director, but the officer discouraged them from doing so.
The mother accused the director of “lying” about being willing to issue a refund and suggested she might have to “take him to court.”
The officers explained that the refund could take a week or two to process but reiterated that the director was willing to provide one. They advised the mother to document her requests in writing.
The family then walked toward the parking lot. According to the body-camera footage, the parents’ interaction with police lasted less than 10 minutes.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio addressed the incident at the beginning of Wednesday’s City Commission meeting.
“i9 Sports is a private youth league that uses our athletic fields through a rental agreement with the city,” she said. “… Removing a player from the program was the league’s decision. The city had no part in it. We are committed to full transparency … As to the police response, when someone calls 911, our officers respond. Whether to make that call was the league’s decision. The officers kept things calm and helped the league and the family discuss their next steps.”
DeCiccio said i9 Sports had “begun a review” that included speaking with everyone involved in the incident.
Later in the meeting, LaWanda Thompson, a longtime community advocate with the Equity Council Corp., asked the city to review i9 Sports’ use of city athletic fields.
“This incident has raised serious concerns about treatment of young children and families participating in recreation programs, the handling of disputes by private sports organizations, and the appropriate involvement of law enforcement in matters that may be similar in nature,” she said.
During his comments later in the meeting, Russell addressed the challenges leagues face in enforcing conduct policies, noting that many rely on a single director and part-time staff to manage multiple games simultaneously.
“So it’s a tough job,” he said. “But when you rent a facility, that’s just your responsibility … So I agree that we’ll look more deliberately at the leagues because we have a standard to protect kids.”
Russell commended the responding officers for helping de-escalate the situation and “modeling” how adults can treat one another respectfully.
“I could sit here for hours and talk about the damage done to kids when adults behave badly because I’ve seen it,” Russell said. “And I hope that young man — I’m sorry, I hope that baby is OK. That 3-year-old child is OK. I hope that the 5- and 6-year-old babies who were there are OK and that there’s a resolution that is acceptable in regards to moving forward. So pray for them.”
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 28, 2026 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety
Winter Park Suspends Flock Cameras for At Least 90 Days
The police department said the cameras are a beneficial tool for solving crimes and would like to reinstate them once a new policy is finalized
Sept. 28, 2026
By Allison Smith
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson confirmed that his agency’s Flock cameras and any other automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) are no longer in use following a suspension of the program approved by the City Commission last week.
The suspension will run for at least 90 days, giving the department time to “assess and discuss” the changes needed to protect the privacy of law-abiding residents and guard against potential abuses by law enforcement, while still reaping the benefits the cameras provide as investigative and crime-solving tools, he said.
“We’ve made policy changes to try and keep up with putting appropriate guardrails on [license plate reader] systems,” Volkerson told the commission. “But it’s a very fluid thing … And honestly, I feel like a dog chasing my own tail, trying to keep up with everything.”
In August, Volkerson updated his department’s policy to more strictly limit how the camera database can be used, in response to incidents of police abuse elsewhere. In Haines City, about an hour southwest of Winter Park, a police officer was arrested and charged with official misconduct and other computer-related crimes. The officer allegedly used the Flock system for more than 700 searches over about two years to track the whereabouts of his estranged wife’s vehicle.
“We’re banning any of those features that create more of the feeling of distrust in the community,” Volkerson said.
A camera appears on a utility pole near a church on Howell Branch Road in Winter Park. (Photo by Allison Smith)
However, he said he needs until at least early 2027 to determine what the full policy should look like going forward.
Commissioner Warren Lindsey expressed concern that the Florida Legislature could override whatever new policy the city comes up with when lawmakers meet again in March. In recent years, the Legislature has repeatedly preempted city and county rules, chipping away at local governments’ ability to govern themselves with one-size-fits-all solutions for the entire state.
Volkerson said he plans to stay in touch with lawmakers and address their concerns, and he hopes to have a policy in place before the annual legislative session begins in March.
Winter Park signed a 60-month contract with Flock Safety in 2023 for three cameras at a cost of $7,500 a year, according to the contract.
All three cameras were positioned on state-owned roads. They were deactivated after the Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for such devices across the state in August.
Winter Park also uses cameras manufactured by Motorola Solutions, which primarily sells to government agencies and law enforcement, according to the company’s public financial filings. Those cameras are also included in the citywide suspension and will be subject to the new policy.
Volkerson declined to comment on how many Motorola cameras were recently in use, but said they were acquired through a grant.
Using the popular crowdsourced site Deflock, a Voice reporter attempted to photograph ALPRs in and around Winter Park. The Voice confirmed the locations of 13 cameras listed on the site’s interactive, open-source map.
Some of the cameras are on private property, such as the campus of Rollins College.
One camera on a median on Horatio Avenue near Howell Branch Road in Maitland appeared to be covered with a garbage bag.
A bag appears over a camera in Maitland on Horatio Avenue. (Photo by Allison Smith)
Volkerson said he expects the state to begin fining agencies for misuse of ALPR systems, similar to the penalties for abuse of another law enforcement database, the Driver and Vehicle Information Database, known as DAVID. That database contains Florida driver’s license numbers, home addresses, photos, signatures, birth dates, vehicle information and more. DAVID has also been prone to misuse by law enforcement and other officials over the years, and its rules could serve as a model for Flock technology.
“Protecting people’s privacy is extremely important,” Volkerson said. “Any violation of that is an extremely serious offense.”
According to the department’s ALPR policy, updated in August, the database can be used only for active investigations, and information cannot be shared with anyone who is not directly involved in the investigation.
The cameras use optical recognition technology to check license tags against a so-called “hot list.” They provide a visual and audible alarm when a tag matches lists of stolen vehicles, suspended driver’s licenses, registered sex offenders, registered felons and other local intelligence pertaining to gang or drug investigations, according to a copy of the policy.
An APLR camera appears on the first floor of the Truist Parking garage just off Park Avenue in Winter Park. (Photo by Allison Smith)
Officers in Winter Park can manually add to the hot lists only in certain circumstances, such as a new Amber or Silver Alert, license plates related to wanted or missing persons, and those necessary for “gathering criminal intelligence during an active investigation.” Searches can be traced to the officer’s name and case number, and officers must enter a reason for each search.
Volkerson said the department still needs to determine a retention period for the images and information the cameras collect, along with rules for cameras near sensitive areas such as schools, health care facilities and churches.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 2, 2026 | City Commission, Police and Public Safety
Winter Park to Remove Flock Cameras Per State Order
“The cameras have value in terms of investigative and security uses, but the issue is whether or not people’s privacy rights and concerns over surveillance outweigh those legitimate and positive uses,” Commissioner Warren Lindsey told the Voice
Sept. 2, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson said all three of the Flock cameras operating in Winter Park will be taken down in order to comply with a state order to remove the license plate readers from state roads.
Volkerson said the cameras will come down within 30 days as required by the order from the Florida Department of Transportation.
“… The recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life,” read the memorandum dated Aug. 31.
An example of how a camera appears on the road. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety)
Winter Park has operated the cameras on Lee Road, Fairbanks Avenue and Aloma Avenue for about five years. All are on state-owned roads and must be removed to comply with the state’s order revoking permits for the devices.
Volkerson said it’s possible the cameras will be placed on city-owned roads, which would not be impacted by the state’s order. He said the original locations were selected because they cover the major roadways that lead in and out of the city of 30,000 people surrounded by Orlando, Maitland and neighboring Seminole County.
The Voice reported last month that Volkerson made changes to the way the police department used the cameras in response to increasing concerns about privacy and growing awareness about instances of law enforcement in other jurisdictions abusing the database created by the cameras. He ended direct access to Winter Park’s cameras by outside agencies and also said he planned to more strictly audit how his department was using the database.
Flock cameras, which get their name because they are manufactured by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety, are mounted along roadways and photograph vehicles. They create a searchable database of license plate numbers and other details such as the vehicle’s make, model and distinguishing characteristics. Police can search by inputting a description such as a blue Toyota RAV-4 with damage to the back bumper or by a tag number as part of an investigation.
A chart from Flock Safety’s website attempts to address some concerns about the camera system.
Officers can also program the system to alert them if a vehicle with a specific description or tag number is captured by one of the cameras.
In July, his officers conducted between 50 and 60 searches using the cameras, which cost the department $7,500 a year to lease.
Volkerson previously told the Voice the network of surveillance provides a “huge benefit” for safety as a tool for solving crimes.
As an example, Volkerson said the cameras proved helpful earlier this year when there were some residential burglaries along Phelps Avenue. He said his officers pursued a suspect but lost him. About 20 minutes later, they received an alert for the vehicle from a camera near South Orlando Avenue and pursued it again but did not capture the suspect. Eventually a different agency’s camera alerted that the vehicle was near Apopka and the suspect was arrested.
But in recent months, the network of cameras has prompted nationwide backlash among people concerned about data collection and the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
Commissioner Warren Lindsey, who is also a well-known criminal defense attorney, said he has concerns about the cameras and wants to consider the risks and benefits before the city decides to continue to use them in other locations not governed by the state order.
“We need to look at it carefully,” he said. “Where does the data go and where is it used? The cameras have value in terms of investigative and security uses, but the issue is whether or not people’s privacy rights and concerns over surveillance outweigh those legitimate and positive uses.”
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 14, 2026 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety
Commissioners Want Safety Class and Other Rules for Kids on E-Bikes
Winter Park is still considering exactly what rules to put in place and how to enforce them
Aug. 14, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
Winter Park is considering imposing new regulations aimed to crack down on people driving electric bikes and motorized scooters dangerously around town.
The City Commission held a workshop Thursday to discuss how they want to craft a future city ordinance although they did not take an official vote. No public meeting date has been scheduled yet for the City Commission to vote on the final ordinance, spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said afterward.
The issue of e-bikes and e-scooters has been a hot topic in Central Florida. Just ahead of the new school year, Orange County Public Schools banned the devices for all students unless they have a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit. School officials expressed frustration that state and local governments have not acted sooner to pass any safety reforms.
On the workshop’s agenda, draft language of the ordinance proposed a 10 mph speed limit for any electric bicycle or motorized scooter traveling on sidewalks, shared-use paths, trails and parks. E-bikes and e-scooters would be banned on sidewalks within the central business district, Hannibal Square Neighborhood Commercial District or Orange Avenue District just like bicycles are.
But city officials questioned whether to include a specific speed limit at all.
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson said he was hesitant about the challenges of enforcing a 10 mph limit.
“Conceptually, I like the 10 miles an hour, but the reality is if you set a speed limit of 10 miles an hour, I’m going to have a line of people at my door wanting to know why we’re not running radar on sidewalks and giving kids tickets for going 11 and 12 mph on the sidewalks,” Volkerson said. “If it’s in ordinance, there is going to be an expectation that we are going to enforce it.”
He also warned some electric vehicles young people are riding don’t have speedometers.
“It’s hard to hold a 13- or 14-year-old kid accountable for going 10 miles an hour when he doesn’t have any method of determining that he’s going 10 miles an hour,” Volkerson said.
City officials suggested not having a specific speed limit at all but crafting the ordinance to say “unsafe speeds” or “carless” driving was prohibited on e-bikes and e-scooters.
However, Commissioner Elizabeth Ingram said if the city left it “broad like that, everyone’s going to have their own opinion of what is careless.”
Under the proposed ordinance, e-bike and motorized scooters would need to yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian.
Winter Park officials nixed a proposed provision to require e-bike and e-scooter drivers to carry a government-issued photograph ID.
Anyone under 16 will be required to take a city-approved safety education class to ride in city limits.
“I absolutely love the idea of requiring kids to attend the class. I think it’s very, very smart,” said Volkerson, who added that young people are already required to take a class to ride dirt bikes.
Volkerson balked at the idea of the city issuing a card to prove young people took the course. He preferred they get a certification of completion.
“They blow through stop signs,” Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said of young offenders she has witnessed. “They need to just learn the basic rules of the road.”
The proposed ordinance said parents or legal guardians would be held responsible for minors who get cited for violating the ordinance. City officials did not discuss how much the fines would cost.
“This is about accountability,” Commissioner Craig Russell said.
Other city officials acknowledged the city had limited leverage to handle repeat offenders since the city would not be giving licenses although Volkerson pointed out the city can impound e-bikes and e-scooters
“Tow company doesn’t care if it’s a bike or a car. You are going to pay a high impound fee for that,” Volkerson said.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 13, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety
Winter Park Police Chief Adds New Rules for Flock Cameras
Chief Tim Volkerson said the cameras that capture license plates are helpful in investigations, but wants to respond to concerns about the potential for abuse
Aug. 13, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Police Chief Tim Volkerson said Winter Park’s three flock cameras provide valuable information when it comes to tracking down criminal suspects.
But he told the Voice this week that he also understands growing concerns about how the cameras are used and worries about the potential for abuse.
That’s why he put new rules into place this week that no longer allow out-of-state agencies to access Winter Park’s system, continue to prohibit access by federal agencies and limit his own officers from using the data except for in cases of current and active investigations.
A Flock Safety image shows an example of what the cameras look like.
In addition, he said he’s adding more checks to monitor for misuse. The camera manufacturer announced on Thursday it made its own changes to enhance accountability and has rolled out a new audit mechanism and will require law enforcement agencies to adopt it by the end of the year, though Volkerson said he had not heard from the company directly as of Thursday.
“We’re going to build in a more robust audit system,” Volkerson said. “We value the tool and the safety it provides our community, but we also value the trust of our community and will continue to work to maintain that trust.”
Flock cameras, which get their name because they are manufactured by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety, are mounted along roadways and photograph vehicles. They create a searchable database of license plate numbers and other details such as the vehicle’s make, model and distinguishing characteristics.
On Thursday morning, the company announced a set of changes and new features that it says are designed to increase transparency and responsibility and prevent misuse.
“Abuse of Flock technology, at any level, is unacceptable,” said a message on Flock Safety’s website. “We have strengthened safeguards over the past nine years, from basic audit logs to proactive monitoring. Sixteen weeks ago, we introduced Audit Assistance, which detects abnormal activity and flags it for administrator review. In recent weeks, those reviews have been associated with arrests of several law enforcement officers who allegedly abused the system. More than one-third of our customers have voluntarily adopted audit assistance.”
The company said agencies who use its cameras will be required to adopt the audit system by the end of the year and it will roll out a “proactive lockout” feature that automatically suspends a user’s access to the data if it detects abnormal searches.
In addition, the data recorded by the cameras will only be saved for seven days instead of 30 days unless an officer shows there’s a reason to retain the information for longer.
“Our analysis shows that over 90% of searches without a full plate are done within a week,” the statement said. “Evidence Mode, which will roll out in the coming weeks, addresses the exceptional cases that take longer: detectives can preserve specific [automated license plate reader] data as evidence for an active investigation in cold storage, consistent with existing laws and policies.”
A chart from Flock Safety’s website addresses some concerns about the camera system.
In Winter Park, Volkerson said, three cameras have been in place on Lee Road, Fairbanks Avenue and Aloma Avenue for about five years. The lease for all three costs about $7,500 a year.
The cameras can be used in two ways: Police can search for a specific vehicle or tag number as part of an investigation or officers can program the system to alert them if when a vehicle associated with a crime is captured by one of the cameras.
Under the changes Volkerson is putting in place, outside agencies such as Orlando Police or the Orange County Sheriff’s Office will need to contact Winter Park PD in order to search data collected by Winter Park’s cameras. And the reverse is also true: Winter Park would need to contact other agencies if a case led them to require information from another city or county.
“It is a reciprocal network, so if we stop their access then we lose access going the other way as well,” he explained.
Last month his officers conducted between 50 and 60 searches.
As an example, Volkerson said the cameras proved helpful earlier this year when there were some residential burglaries along Phelps Avenue. He said his officers pursued a suspect but lost him. About 20 minutes later, they received an alert for the vehicle from a camera near South Orlando Avenue and pursued it again but did not capture the suspect. Eventually a different agency’s camera alerted that the vehicle was near Apopka and the suspect was arrested.
“It’s a huge benefit for the safety of the city,” Volkerson said of the camera network.
Privacy concerns among law-abiding citizens are a key concern that has emerged as the cameras have become more widespread across Florida and elsewhere.
Earlier this summer, an automotive journalist was testing out a Range Rover for TheDrive.com, an automotive news outlet, when multiple police vehicles surrounded the SUV in a Kohl’s parking lot in Plymouth, Minn. The man’s wife was in the passenger seat.
“‘Are you armed?!’ the police officer screamed. ‘Get out of the car!'” Joel Feder wrote about his experience on TheDrive.com.
“After dropping off our Amazon returns, we’d just gotten back in the Range Rover and reversed maybe two feet out of the spot when four cop cars came flying out of nowhere and boxed us in,” he wrote. “The officers jumped out and started shouting. It’s a situation that can quickly and frequently turn bad, so as unprepared as I was, I followed their orders, got out with my hands up, and tried to figure out what the hell was happening.”
It turned out the license plate of the borrowed vehicle matched the plate of a stolen vehicle that had been entered into the Flock system incorrectly and that the police had been using the cameras to track the vehicle Feder was driving for days.
Police Chief Tim Volkerson
Closer to home in Tampa Bay, the St. Petersburg police chief recently addressed concerns about the cameras after a man drew national attention for wearing a t-shirt that reads “The Flock Blocker” as he protested the cameras by holding what appeared to be homemade shield on a long pole to block a camera lens.
And earlier this month a Haines City police officer was arrested and charged with official misconduct and other computer-related crimes after he used the Flock system for more than 700 searches over about two years to try to track the whereabouts of his estranged wife’s vehicle, according to a police investigation cited by news reports.
Volkerson said he understands the concerns and wants to ensure residents have trust in the system and understand police are using the data to try to solve crimes or find missing people, not track law-abiding people.
“I understand some of the complaints I have read,” he said. “I can see their point of view and I think it’s important to address that so we’re tightening things down so it does not become an issue. It’s the right thing to do.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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