‘We did not get asked’: Virginia mother says a gunshot sensor was installed on her property without permission, and police told her it was legal

A mother in a Virginia neighborhood says she was upset after the city installed a Flock gunshot sensor on her property without asking her first. Posting on Reddit under the username Katililly, she explained that the city had approved an encroachment for the installation of multiple sensors, reportedly 75 in total, throughout the area.

According to her post, her private residence was not on the city’s list of approved locations, and she alleged that no authorities asked her before the installation work was done. She wrote that news reports she had seen stated the city approved the sensors “within the public right-of-way at 75 locations throughout the city.”

She added, citing the same reports, that the Roanoke Police Department said the locations were still being determined but would “include government buildings and private buildings with permission from the owner(s).” In her post, she stated plainly, “We did NOT get asked.”

The mother says an officer told her the sensor sits within the city’s right of way

According to her account, the mother said an officer she spoke with told her the device was within the city’s right of way because it sat where a sidewalk would be if one existed. She wrote that she and her household had reportedly submitted “MULTIPLE requests to have a sidewalk placed in the yard for over a year” but said they never heard back.

She expressed concern about how close the device sits to her home. “It’s 75 feet from my couch,” she wrote. She also said the sensor, while designed to listen for gunshots, can “hear human voices” too, which she described as essentially a “24-7 listening device” on her property.

In her post, the mother also shared her worry about how others might view the situation. She wrote that she feared her neighbors would think she had agreed to the device’s placement and to audio surveillance of the area. “I don’t want to have unwarranted audio surveillance of myself and my children in our own home,” she wrote. 

She also questioned whether the installation was intentional. “Maybe it is just an honest mistake from the installation company or something,” she wrote. She added in an edit to her post that, of the 75 addresses listed in the encroachment permits from the city council meeting, her address and lot “WERE NOT listed as potential sites.”

The mother said she called a police officer to report the matter, but was reportedly told the sensor was there legally. She described the device as a roughly 12-foot pole cemented into the ground and said she found it unattractive. She also indicated she has been actively responding to comments and messages, and wrote in an edit, “WOW this blew up!” 

Reactions from commenters varied. One commenter raised a safety concern, writing that the pole was “not safely installed” and claiming that roadside poles generally have “a weak point at the bottom so if a car runs into them the occupant doesn’t get swiss cheesed.” That commenter suggested the installation was “not up to standards” and that “someone with means could potentially cause some legal problems.”

Other commenters offered different reactions. One wrote, “Time to buy an old POS lawnmower that backfires a lot,” suggesting that frequent false alarms might lead to its removal, while another simply wrote, “Get an angle grinder.” Concerns about recording devices have surfaced elsewhere too, as seen in a renter’s questions about a decibel-level recording device listed on an apartment lease.

A different commenter took a more resigned view, writing, “I wouldn’t like this either. It’s in the public right of way so there isn’t anything that can be done.” Frustration over loud disturbances in residential areas has also come up in other cases, such as when residents reacted to a military drill that brought helicopters and simulated gunfire to their neighborhood.

Some commenters appeared to hint at removing the device themselves, with one writing, “It would be a real shame if it disappeared overnight.” Others offered sympathy, with one commenter writing, “I’m so sorry. This is a huge stress you don’t deserve. It’s simply wrong.”