Lake County commissioners getting an earful from residents concerned about privacy voted Tuesday to pull the plug on license plate reader cameras.

Chairwoman Leslie Campione, who wanted to give Sheriff Peyton Grinnell a chance to give his input in a future meeting, had to fight the raucous crowd for order.

“Disgusting!” one man yelled while walking out.

“I would imagine that everybody in here feels the same way. We do not want the government watching our every move, recording everything we do,” Campione said. “We don’t want that in this country. We don’t want this in this county. You’ve got five people up here that feels the same way you do but you’ve got five people from … Palm Beach coming to our county to scream out at our meeting and I don’t think that’s how we get to the truth or a good decision.”

Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, who says he is “100 percent against the cameras,” placed the item on the agenda and was determined to revoke the system’s license agreement with the county.

Commissioners ended up unanimously agreeing. It follows Monday’s move by the Florida Department of Transportation to have the systems shut down on state roads.

That decision came from “the best governor, Gov. Ron DeSantis,” Sabatini said.

Leesburg also decided to remove the cameras Tuesday.

Reaction against the cameras has caught fire across the state, almost as if everyone has suddenly been reading George Orwell’s “Big Brother is Watching” novel 1984.

Adding to the heat are a few publicized cases of police officers using them to spy on their ex-marriage partners, and a state agency using it to track down a complainer.

The Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying that the ability of the systems to “enhance safety and save lives is well documented.” It went on to acknowledge privacy concerns saying it has installed safeguards. “We have never had an instance of misuse. However, we understand that privacy concerns remain and we will be complying with state and local directives concerning license plate readers as they are disseminated.”

The systems have successfully tracked suspects, including Vickie Williams, who goes on trial next week for allegedly murdering a retired couple in Mount Dora in 2022. License plate readers led authorities to Savannah where she was sitting in the couple’s stolen car.

Some legal experts have discussed whether people driving on a public road have an expectation of privacy.

“I agree there is a gap between Fourth Amendment rights and invasion of privacy but it’s not worth the risk,” Sabatini told Lake/Sumter Style. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens “against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

“They’re invasive and leave a negative psychological message,” Sabatini says.

One woman who took her turn at the podium Tuesday identified herself as Hispanic and said she comes from “generational communism. My parents and my husband come from communist dictatorships. We legally migrated to this country. This is supposed to be the land of the free. I want you to know that it’s always presented for your benefit. For your good. And it’s also presented under fear mongering.”

One man who identified himself as “Crash,” claimed the camera systems “read biometrics,” including heart rate, fingerprints and facial recognition.

The Flock camera company which sells a large number of systems across the nation states on its website that it does not record any biometric data, including facial recognition. It records information about the vehicle, and only for the limited time it passes by. Data is stored for 30 days and belongs to the customer.

Another woman claimed the camera systems can lock into the vehicle’s blue tooth system, capturing all kinds of information. “Crash” worried about the data being shared to other entities for sales purposes.

Others likened it to “creeping poison.”