Police Misuse of Flock ALPR Cameras Triggers Discipline, Contract Cancellations and Growing Privacy Pushback

Across at least six states, officers have been disciplined for employing Flock Safety’s automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) to track personal contacts rather than criminal suspects. In Milwaukee, Officer Josue Ayala searched a partner’s plate more than 200 times in a two-month span in 2025, was charged with misconduct, resigned and received a year of probation. His investigator, Officer Tehrangi Chapman, faced a separate “misuse of GPS information” charge after repeating the same behavior. Similar actions prompted criminal charges and job loss for officers in Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, California and Georgia. In Greer, South Carolina, Cpl. Kareem Lynch and Officer Sebastian Echeverry were fired on June 26, 2026 after the department’s “Flock AI Audit Assistance” tool flagged policy violations. Fayetteville, Georgia, terminated three officers after an internal audit revealed searches of their own or relatives’ plates.

Mother Jones

Flock’s solar-powered, sub-3-pound ALPR units now sit on roughly 80,000 street corners nationwide, making the company the largest U.S. provider. The cameras continuously scan vehicles, storing data for up to 30 days unless law-enforcement demands longer retention. While marketed as a tool for solving crimes—e.g., an attempted murder case in Pensacola—the technology has been used to pursue immigrants without warrants and to monitor people traveling for abortions.

Mother Jones

• 24 documented cases of officers using Flock cameras to stalk romantic partners or interests over the past two years (Institute for Justice).

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• 30 municipalities canceled Flock contracts during 2025.

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• Flock cameras operate in 80,000 locations, with individual jurisdictions ranging from a handful (e.g., 4 cameras in Berwick, LA) to dozens (e.g., 55 in Kenner, LA).

Shreveport Times

• The company reports that misuse incidents are “rare,” yet every documented case has resulted in disciplinary action or termination.

Rock Hill Herald

Flock Safety maintains that its system “does not use facial recognition” and that data automatically deletes after 30 days unless required by law. The company’s website asserts, “Public safety technology should not operate without accountability,” adding, “We agree with that completely. That is why reviewability is built directly into Flock’s design.” Greer City Administrator Andrew Merriman emphasized the city’s commitment to privacy: “The City of Greer takes seriously the responsibility to protect the life, safety, and privacy of our citizens, and we utilize the latest tools and technology to perform these duties.”

Rock Hill Herald

Civil-rights groups argue the network creates a de-facto nationwide surveillance grid. ACLU senior policy counsel Chad Marlow warns that vehicle tracking “can reveal very deeply personal and private information…that is Flock at its most dangerous.” Activist coalition DeFlock has published public maps of camera locations, and its members have been labeled “terroristic” by Flock CEO Garrett Langley, who later apologized. Researchers also cite Flock’s data-sharing practices as potential privacy violations.

Mother Jones

• “The tracking of an individual vehicle, as it moves throughout an area, can reveal very deeply personal and private information, not only about the vehicle but the person operating it,” — Chad Marlow, ACLU senior policy counsel.

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• “That is Flock at its most dangerous.” — Chad Marlow, ACLU senior policy counsel.

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• “In these incredibly divisive political times, we’re actually seeing the rare issue that unites Americans: opposition to government surveillance,” — Chad Marlow, ACLU senior policy counsel.

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• “And I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I think this movement is only going to grow.” — Chad Marlow, ACLU senior policy counsel.

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• “The City of Greer takes seriously the responsibility to protect the life, safety, and privacy of our citizens, and we utilize the latest tools and technology to perform these duties,” — Andrew Merriman, Greer City Administrator.

Rock Hill Herald

Congressional bills targeting ALPR networks are moving through the 118th Congress, and a recent Fourth Circuit decision, shaped by the Supreme Court’s phone-tracking ruling, places additional legal pressure on agencies using such systems. Georgia law-enforcement agencies have already upgraded audit tools, suggesting more internal reviews and potential disciplinary actions in the coming months.

Three More Georgia Cops Got Fired Over Flock Cameras — And This Time, Nobody Was Even Stalking Anyone