Full Breakdown
Wisconsin Police Use Flock Tracking to Justify Marijuana Search
8/6/2026, 8:40:48 AM
Core Event
In April 2025, Wisconsin law-enforcement officers employed the Flock vehicle-tracking network to monitor Edward Abrams-Phillips’s movements between Wisconsin and neighboring Michigan. The criminal complaint alleges that the agency used the recorded interstate trips—identified as “frequent” travel to a state where marijuana is legal—to establish probable cause for a traffic stop and a subsequent search that uncovered marijuana, leading to a possession conviction.
Background & Context
Marijuana remains illegal in Wisconsin but is legal in Michigan. Police have increasingly turned to commercial location-data services such as Flock to supplement investigations. In this case, the complaint notes that prior Flock “hits” indicated Abrams-Phillips regularly crossed the border, prompting officers to treat the crossing itself as evidence of intent to obtain cannabis.
Timeline
- Early April 2025: Flock logs show Abrams-Phillips driving north on Interstate 41 from Brown Road, then crossing into Michigan via Bridge Street.
- Later that day (?3:56 p.m.): The vehicle is recorded heading southbound on I-41 back toward Green Bay.
- Immediately after the return: Deputy Kowalski initiates a traffic stop, matching the driver’s description to Abrams-Phillips.
- Following the stop: Officers search the vehicle, find marijuana, and arrest Abrams-Phillips on possession charges. The arrest is later linked to a separate bail-jumping charge for domestic-violence allegations, which is ultimately dismissed.
Data & Statistics
The complaint cites multiple Flock detections: at least four recorded passes on Highway 41—including northbound trips from Brown Road and County Line in Marinette, and a northbound crossing on Bridge Street into Michigan. The record describes the vehicle as “hitting flock on several occasions,” establishing a pattern of interstate travel that police presented as a “known source state for marijuana.”
Official Statements & Responses
Court documents reviewed by 404 Media indicate that the police department framed the interstate travel as a pretextual element of probable cause, arguing that the frequent trips to a legal-marijuana state justified the search. The bail-jumping charge was later dismissed, and Abrams-Phillips was convicted solely of marijuana possession. No public comment from the department or from Flock was included in the available records.
