Police Keep Losing Their Jobs for Using Flock Cameras to Stalk People
7 hours ago
- Flock cameras are solar-powered, automated license plate readers installed on 80,000 street corners nationwide, logging billions of plates monthly and building an $8.3 billion business.
- Police officers are increasingly using Flock cameras to stalk romantic partners and exes instead of solving crimes, with at least 24 documented cases in the past two years.
- Examples include Milwaukee officers Josue Ayala and Tehrangi Chapman, who both misused the technology to track individuals in their personal lives and faced criminal charges.
- In January 2025 alone, six new cases of officer misconduct involving Flock cameras were reported in states including Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, California, and Georgia.
- Privacy advocates like the ACLU warn that tracking a vehicle's movements reveals deeply personal information, and the technology has also been used to target immigrants without warrants and monitor abortion seekers traveling across state lines.
- Backlash is growing: over 30 municipalities canceled Flock contracts in 2025, and grassroots groups like DeFlock map camera locations, while Flock's CEO has apologized for calling activists 'terroristic'.
- The ACLU expects opposition to government surveillance to unite Americans across political divides, with the movement likely to continue growing.