Pinellas County Commissioner Vince Nowicki pressed Sheriff Bob Gualtieri about camera companies sponsoring the national sheriffs’ association he leads during the county’s Oct. 8 workshop on automated license plate readers.
“The Major County Sheriffs of America … listed Flock, Axon and Motorola as major sponsors. Do you have any information on that?” Nowicki said, according to WMNF’s account of the exchange.
Gualtieri took offense at the question, according to Jesse Mendoza’s Oct. 13 Florida Politics report.
“What you’re insinuating is offensive, so don’t even go there,” Gualtieri said. “I’m not being bought and paid by anybody.”
Gualtieri said he had no role in securing the organization’s sponsors. Nowicki said he had not intended the insinuation, but the sheriff maintained that the commissioner knew what he was suggesting, Florida Politics reported.
Lealman has at least eight reported license plate camera locations, according to the Flock Camera public directory. The community-maintained directory lists readers from several manufacturers and does not give a brand breakdown for Lealman. It cannot establish that all eight are Flock Safety units or currently operating.
Gualtieri is president of the Major County Sheriffs of America. WMNF reported that Flock, Axon and Motorola are sponsors at the association’s highest tier. Its 2026 sponsorship schedule lists a $150,000 price for that tier. The price covers an association sponsorship, rather than a payment to Gualtieri personally.
At the Oct. 13 commission meeting, resident Lauren Meyers singled out Nowicki for confronting the sheriff, while criticizing him for backing down after Gualtieri took offense. Meyers said commissioners should independently evaluate the information presented to them, Florida Politics reported.
The workshop also addressed failures in the oversight of police database searches. In its Oct. 8 coverage, Florida Politics reported that a former deputy allegedly made 300 license plate reader searches involving a woman he pursued romantically.
Gualtieri said audits missed those searches because the deputy lied about his reasons for accessing the system. He proposed stronger auditing tools, including artificial intelligence, and acknowledged that better safeguards could not guarantee abuse would never happen again.
The sheriff defended the cameras as investigative tools, citing their use in finding missing people and solving serious crimes, according to the workshop coverage. He argued for retaining the technology while improving oversight.
Nowicki’s proposal would end county agreements with license plate reader providers and remove cameras from county-controlled roads. Tampa Bay 28 reported that it would also require staff to report camera ownership and costs, including obstacles to ending contracts.
As of Florida Politics’ Oct. 13 report, no follow-up public discussion or vote on Nowicki’s proposal had been scheduled.
Updated Oct 14, 2026