Stalking cases
60 officers used plate readers to stalk people.
Flock and other ALPR systems can reveal where a person goes over time. That location history is as sensitive as cell phone records, but ALPR searches are rarely held to a warrant standard.
The Institute for Justice keeps a running database of officers who used these systems to follow partners, exes, and people they wanted to date. Its stalking entries cover 60 officers in 58 documented cases, 53 of them involving Flock. Nearly all were criminally charged or lost their jobs. Most were caught only after a victim complained, not by an audit.
60
Officers in 58 documented cases
A searchable movement database becomes a stalking tool the moment one person with a login decides to use it that way.
Casa Grande
One complaint, investigated by the department itself.
The city reports one misuse complaint, cleared internally. The policy lists discipline and termination for misuse. It never mentions prosecution.
Read the city's answer →All 58 cases, latest first, each with its source
The pattern is the same every time. The tool was there, and nobody was watching.
deflockcg rebuilt this list from the Institute for Justice database on 9/9/26. Dates, place names, and summaries follow IJ; each card links to the original source IJ cites. IJ calls its count an undercount: most of these officers were caught only after a victim complained.
2026 26 cases
- September 2026 Flock
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Sgt. James Marinelli was referred for possible criminal charges after allegedly using the Flock system to track current and former girlfriends.
Source: newbedfordlight.org - September 2026 Flock
Richmond County, Georgia
Investigator Sean Morrow was fired and criminally charged for alleged misuse of the Flock system.
Source: wjbf.com - August 2026 Flock
Colleton County, South Carolina
Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Kevin Smalls was fired after allegedly running 62 unauthorized searches on the Flock system for his spouse and other people he knew.
Source: live5news.com - August 2026 Flock
Habersham County, Georgia
Deputy Jonathan Thomas was fired and criminally charged after an internal audit found that he used the Flock system to track the whereabouts of a person he was in a relationship with. After Thomas' arrest, the Sheriff's office announced it was imposing new restrictions on deputies' use of Flock cameras.
Source: wsbtv.com - August 2026 Flock
Brevard County, Florida
Former Brevard Deputy Michael Fultz resigned after an investigation uncovered "egregious misconduct," including looking up his ex-girlfriend's license plate on Flock.
Source: clickorlando.com - August 2026 Flock
Lufkin, Texas
Lufkin officer Zachary Klein was arrested and indicted on 100 felony counts related to misuse of the Flock system "for a nongovernmental purpose and with the intent to obtain a benefit or harm or defraud another." Klein allegedly searched for his ex-girlfriend and people she knew more than 10,000 times. The department subsequently disabled all of its Flock cameras.
Source: lufkindailynews.com - August 2026 Flock 3 officers
Bibb County, Georgia
Three former deputies, Tony Lewis, Coznavian Stubbs, and Joseph Callaway, were each charged with stalking and other crimes in the same investigation after allegedly using the Flock system to track people they were in relationships with.
Source: 13wmaz.com - August 2026 Flock
Mooresville, North Carolina
Officer Elizabeth Snowman was criminally charged after allegedly using Flock cameras to track the location of her boyfriend's ex-wife.
Source: wdbj7.com - August 2026 Flock
Apache Junction, Arizona
Former officer Joshua McDaniels resigned at the conclusion of an investigation that found he improperly used Flock to look up the location of his wife.
Source: abc15.com - August 2026 Flock
Brentwood, Missouri
An outside investigation found that an unnamed officer committed "sustained policy violations" by using the Flock system to track the location of his ex-wife during their divorce proceedings.
Source: firstalert4.com - August 2026 Flock
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford officer Emily Pacheco was placed on leave and an investigation was opened after her ex-girlfriend filed for an abuse prevention order against her. Pacheco allegedly stalked her ex using Flock cameras.
Source: newbedfordlight.org - August 2026 Flock
Houston County, Georgia
School Resource Officer Sierra Carroll was suspended without pay and is facing potential criminal charges after an internal audit revealed she misused the Flock system to track family members and coworkers.
Source: usatoday.com - August 2026 Flock
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
After an inquiry from a reporter, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office fired Deputy Nathan Rome after determining he had searched for his ex-fiancee's license plate thousands of times over several years. The ex-fiancee told investigators she was aware of the unauthorized searches.
Source: fox8live.com - July 2026 Flock
Sumter County, Florida
Sumter County detective Brandy Almany was fired and criminally charged after allegedly using Flock and other police databases to track her husband's ex-wife.
Source: clickorlando.com - July 2026 Flock
Habersham County, Georgia
Deputy Christian Brewer was fired and arrested after an internal audit uncovered he used the Flock system to track the whereabouts of a person he was in a relationship with.
Source: nowgeorgia.com - June 2026 Flock
Statesboro, Georgia
Andrae Wright, a former Effingham County Sheriff's Office employee and investigator with the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney's Office, was charged with stalking and other crimes for alleged misuse of the Flock system.
Source: gbi.georgia.gov - May 2026 Flock
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena Sargeant Michael Palitz resigned while under investigation for allegedly misusing the department's Flock camera system. Officials told news outlet KPRC 2 that Palitz was using the cameras to "track and stalk a female officer."
Source: fox26houston.com - April 2026 Flock
Amarillo, Texas
Officer Christian Eder was fired and criminally charged after allegedly using Flock cameras to track a man he perceived as a romantic rival 76 times.
Source: abc7amarillo.com - April 2026 Flock
Alpharetta, Georgia
An internal investigation concluded that Patrolman Dustin Bozzo used the Flock system dozens of times to track the whereabouts of a former romantic partner employed by the police department, as well as another officer who he mistakenly perceived to be a romantic rival. Bozzo resigned and the case is now under criminal investigation.
Source: documentcloud.org - April 2026 ALPR
Gwinnett County, Georgia
Officer Renee Downer was arrested and relieved of duty after allegedly using law enforcement databases, including a license plate reader system, to monitor the location of an ex-romantic partner.
Source: archive.is - April 2026 Flock
Conyers, Georgia
Paige Forte, a supervisor in the Conyers Police Department's Real-Time Crime Center, was fired and charged after allegedly using the Flock system to monitor her domestic partner's location.
Source: wsbtv.com - March 2026 Flock
Mauldin, South Carolina
Officer Ellie Hammond was fired after using Flock cameras to track a former romantic partner 166 times.
Source: postandcourier.com - February 2026 Guardian
Key West, Florida
Sheriff's Deputy Lamar Roman allegedly used an ALPR system to track and eventually pull over a woman he had met while providing security on a TV set. Roman was arrested and charged with accessing a computer or electronic device without authorization.
Source: 404media.co - January 2026 Flock
Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Reynoldsburg officer Mark Nichols resigned after an investigation found he searched for the license plates of a former domestic partner.
Source: abc6onyourside.com - January 2026 Flock
Shively, Kentucky
Officer Asad Zahir was suspended and is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly searching the Flock system for his child's mother thousands of times in the first several months of this year. Zahir was able to conduct the searches despite the woman having received an order of protection against him.
Source: lpm.org - January 2026 Flock
Kingsville, Texas
Detective Gabriel Garcia resigned in the midst of an investigation into an alleged 5,300 Flock searches "for personal reasons." His surveillance targets included city officials in a nearby town who were in a relationship, one of whom he was also in a relationship with.
Source: texasscorecard.com
2025 18 cases Show Hide
- December 2025 Flock
Jackson County, Indiana
Former deputy Skylar Thompson was fired and criminally charged for allegedly looking up his ex-girlfriend's plate more than 2,000 times from January through August 2026.
Source: fox59.com - December 2025 Flock
Greer, South Carolina
Former Police Corporal Kareem Lynch was fired after an internal audit revealed he had allegedly used the department's Flock system to monitor the whereabouts of a subordinate with whom he had a previous relationship.
Source: fitsnews.com - November 2025 Flock
Bonner Springs, Kansas
Detective Kyle Rector allegedly used license plate readers to track his estranged wife and two men he suspected were her new romantic partners. He was charged with multiple crimes in March 2026.
Source: kshb.com - October 2025 Flock
Niceville, Florida
Former Niceville Officer Coty Hall pleaded no contest to several charges after using the department's Flock system to track another officer and that officer's spouse. Hall's misconduct was discovered via an internal audit; Hall was fired following his arrest in October 2025.
Source: midbaynews.com - October 2025 Flock
Menasha, Wisconsin
Officer Cristian Morales was placed on leave and charged with misconduct in office after his ex-girlfriend filed a complaint alleging that he used a Flock system to track her.
Source: fox11online.com - October 2025 Flock
Katy, Texas
Officer Sergio Rodriguez was fired and indicted for allegedly using the Flock system to track his ex-partner more than 2,000 times over a period of 11 months.
Source: khou.com - October 2025 Flock
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce officer Josepher Crutchfield was charged with four database misuse felonies after allegedly using the Flock system to track his ex-girlfriend hundreds of times. Crutchfield's abuse of the system came to light after a media outlet contacted the department.
Source: cbs12.com - September 2025 Flock
Prairie Grove, Illinois
Officer William C. Copp, who also served as the police chief of nearby Holiday Hills, was arrested after searching Flock for several former romantic partners and at least one of their new partners. Copp has been fired from his Prairie Grove position and his employment with Holiday Hills is under review.
Source: lakemchenryscanner.com - September 2025 Flock
Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Sheriff's Deputy Frank McGrath resigned with severance pay after internal investigators found he used the department's Flock system to keep tabs on another deputy with whom he was romantically involved. He was charged with two felonies in August 2026.
Source: kenoshacountyeye.com - August 2025 Flock
Porter County, Indiana
Porter County sheriff's Lt. Michael Piazza was demoted, suspended without pay and barred from using the department's Flock after an investigation found he conducted unauthorized searches with the Flock system. According to NWI.com reporting, the searches were related to a woman Piazza had been having an affair with.
Source: nwitimes.com - August 2025 Flock
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere police officer Michael Tiso was temporarily suspended without pay for using the Flock system to track his former girlfriend. The abuse was discovered after the girlfriend filed a complaint with the police department.
Source: wcvb.com - July 2025 Flock
Jerome County, Idaho
Sheriff George Oppedyk used a Flock system to search for his wife's vehicle hundreds of times. Idaho's Attorney General concluded that no crime was committed, but Oppedyk retired in April 2026, two years before his term of office ended.
Source: eastidahonews.com - July 2025 ALPR
Winnebago County, Illinois
Former Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Bryan was charged with stalking and official misconduct after allegedly using the department's ALPR system to monitor the locations of an ex-girlfriend and her new partner. The misconduct came to light after the victims filed for an order of protection against Bryan.
Source: wifr.com - June 2025 Flock
Richmond County, Georgia
Former Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough was arrested after allegedly using the Flock system to track the license plate of a woman he'd been having an affair with 1,639 times over several months.
Source: theaugustapress.com - June 2025 Flock
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County Police Department intelligence analyst Nick Barker was fired and referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for potential criminal charges after allegedly tracking his ex-wife multiple times in 2025.
Source: wrdw.com - May 2025 Flock
Greer, South Carolina
Former Greer Officer Sebastian Echeverry was fired after allegedly using the department's Flock system for personal use. According to FITSNews reporting, "at least one of Echeverry's unauthorized searches allegedly targeted his ex-girlfriend."
Source: fitsnews.com - March 2025 Flock
Louisville, Kentucky
Officer Roberto Cedeno was charged with multiple felonies after allegedly using the city's ALPR system to track an ex-partner and her friends hundreds of times over two months.
Source: archive.is - March 2025 Flock
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officer Josue Ayala allegedly used the department's network of Flock ALPRs to track a woman he was dating and her ex-partner nearly 180 times over a two-month period. Ayala resigned in 2026 after being charged with misconduct in public office.
Source: fox6now.com
2024 9 cases Show Hide
- December 2024 Flock
Matteson, Illinois
According to internal documents obtained by stopflock.org, Officer Jaila Cole-Clark ran hundreds of Flock searches for her former domestic partner and that individual's new partner. Cole-Clark resigned from department in the middle of the investigation.
Source: stopflock.org - September 2024 Flock
Haines City, Florida
Haines City officer Christopher Goodson was put on leave and arrested after an investigation revealed he searched the Flock database for his estranged wife's car more than 700 times between September 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026.
Source: fox13news.com - August 2024 ALPR
Shelby County, Tennessee
Deputy Thadius Gordon was relieved of duty after allegedly using an ALPR database to track his ex-wife's location more than 100 times.
Source: actionnews5.com - July 2024 Flock
Braselton, Georgia
Police Chief Michael Steffman was arrested after allegedly using license plate readers to stalk and harass multiple people, including a former romantic partner. Steffman resigned shortly before his arrest.
Source: apnews.com - June 2024 Flock
Riverside County, California
After being arrested for kidnapping his ex-fiance, Deputy Alexander Vanny allegedly used the department's Flock system to track one of her friends. In December 2025 he was convicted of multiple charges in a jury trial.
Source: desertsun.com - June 2024 Flock
Orange City, Florida
Officer Jarmarus Brown allegedly used ALPRs to stalk his girlfriend and her family members more than 100 times over seven months. Brown was arrested and charged in 2025.
Source: 404media.co - June 2024 Flock
Dallas, Georgia
Heidi Taylor, the former 911 director for the Dallas, Georgia police department, was arrested and charged with misuse of a license plate reader system after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that she accessed the Flock system "for reasons unrelated to law enforcement between 2024 and 2025."
Source: cbsnews.com - June 2024 Flock
Stow, Massachusetts
The Stow Police Department placed officer Jason Rogers on unpaid leave and filed a criminal complaint against him after Rogers allegedly used Flock and other databases to stalk a former romantic partner who said she had changed her identity to escape from his abuse. The victim discovered Rogers had been stalking her by using the HaveIBeenFlocked website.
Source: boston25news.com - April 2024 Flock
Coffee County, Georgia
Former Coffee County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Rozar was charged with multiple criminal offenses after allegedly using the department's Flock system to stalk a woman he was romantically interested in. Rozar resigned several weeks into the investigation.
Source: walb.com
2023 2 cases Show Hide
- October 2023 Flock
Sedgwick, Kansas
Police Chief Lee Nygaard resigned after using Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend more than 200 times over several months.
Source: kake.com - June 2023 Flock
Costa Mesa, California
Officer Robert Josett used a Flock camera system to track his mistress and her other romantic interests. Josett pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges in April 2026.
Source: newsnationnow.com
2022 2 cases Show Hide
- October 2022 Flock
Kechi, Kansas
Kechi Lieutenant Victor Heiar pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking after using Flock cameras to track his estranged wife.
Source: kwch.com - January 2022 Flock
Fort Bend County, Texas
A Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant used Flock cameras to monitor the locations of multiple people dozens of times starting January 2022. One of those people was in a "contentious familial relationship" with the lieutenant. The lieutenant was suspended for two days.
Source: abc13.com
2021 1 case Show Hide
- September 2021 ALPR
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Officer Michael McSherry pleaded guilty to stalking charges after using readers to track his estranged wife and other family members.
Source: wpxi.com
Most of these officers were caught by a victim, not an audit. Ask who would catch it here.
Next
Keep reading
Audit logs
12,406
Two out of three searches have no real case number.
Searches with no real case number. That is 2 out of 3.
See the audit gaps →
Hackable
30 sec
Camera feeds were left open on the internet.
Researchers documented exposed Flock camera streams and debug pages online. A movement database is only as safe as its weakest login.
See the security record →
Courts
176
"Not yet ruled unconstitutional" is not "constitutional."
Norfolk cameras a judge called too few to track "the whole" of a life. Casa Grande plans about 240 devices for a quarter of Norfolk's population.
Read about the courts →
Bottom line
Casa Grande has no outside audit and no penalty for misuse beyond discipline.
The petition asks for legal consequences for misuse, including referral for prosecution, and independent audits with public results.