ACLU-WV Mandamus Petition v. City of Huntington over Flock Safety Contract (Cabell County Circuit Court)
Huntington, WV · ACLU-WV mandamus petition (relator Gregory Jimison) v. City of Huntington and Mayor Farrell, Cabell County Circuit Court, filed July 16, 2026
On July 16, 2026 — two days after the Huntington City Council approved a $2.1 million Flock Safety surveillance contract 6-4 — the ACLU of West Virginia filed a mandamus petition in Cabell County Circuit Court against the City of Huntington and Mayor Farrell seeking to block the contract. Rather than a constitutional privacy claim, the petition rests on a procurement/property-law theory challenging how the city entered the contract. The relator (the party on whose behalf mandamus is sought) is Huntington resident Gregory Jimison. The case is an early example of surveillance-contract litigation attacking the purchasing process itself.
Technical detail
State ex rel. Jimison mandamus petition, Cabell County Circuit Court (WV), filed July 16, 2026. Respondents: City of Huntington and Mayor Farrell. Theory: procurement/property-law defects in the award of the $2.1M Flock Safety contract (40 ALPRs, 17 cameras, 2 drones, 2 gunshot detectors, audio detection), not a Fourth Amendment or state constitutional privacy claim. ACLU-WV represents the relator. Underlying contract approved by council 6-4 on July 14, 2026 (see huntington-wv-flock-contract-2026). Case number not available in coverage as of July 19, 2026.
Who is protected: Huntington, WV residents (if the petition succeeds, the Flock surveillance contract would be blocked or unwound)
Who must comply: City of Huntington, WV; Mayor Farrell (respondents)
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Huntington, WV |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2026-07-16 |
| Citation | ACLU-WV mandamus petition (relator Gregory Jimison) v. City of Huntington and Mayor Farrell, Cabell County Circuit Court, filed July 16, 2026 |
| Enforced by | Cabell County Circuit Court, WV |
| Penalties | Mandamus relief sought (contract blocked/unwound); no damages theory reported in coverage |
| Topics | consumer data privacy · police and surveillance AI |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 |
| Official source | City of Huntington hit with lawsuit from ACLU, others over $2.1 million Flock Safety contract — WV MetroNews ↗ |
More AI rules in Huntington, WV
Related consumer data privacy rules elsewhere
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- FCRA (AI in credit & background checks) · In effect
- COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data) · In effect
- TCPA (AI voice calls) · In effect
- DEFIANCE Act (deepfake-porn civil suits) · Proposed / pending
- CCPA/CPRA + ADMT Regulations · In effect
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction — every entry must carry a verifiable official source.