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Incident 1713: York County, South Carolina, Deputies Reportedly Held Local Motorist at Gunpoint After Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Misread

Description: Steven Melvin, a 42-year-old York County, South Carolina, motorist was reportedly detained at gunpoint for more than five minutes after a Flock Safety automated license-plate reader misidentified the first letter of his plate and matched his BMW to a similar stolen vehicle. The sheriff’s office later said an illegal tinted plate cover caused the malfunction and found the deputy’s actions “reasonable”; Flock said alerts should be independently verified before enforcement.
Editor Notes: The incident ID date is 02/14/2024, date of the reported stop. In November 2024, the sheriff’s office found Deputy Kyle Brogden's actions reasonable and attributed the misread to an illegally tinted plate cover. Melvin filed suit on 06/29/2026; the case was removed to federal court on 08/14/2026.

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Alleged: Surveillance technology developers , Flock Safety and Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers developed an AI system deployed by York County Sheriff's Office (South Carolina) , Police departments in the United States , Law enforcement and Kyle Brogden, which harmed Steven Melvin , Road users , Motorists , Epistemic integrity and Drivers.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Surveillance technology , Flock Safety automated license plate reader system and Automated license plate readers (ALPR)

Incident Stats

Incident ID
1713
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2024-02-14
Editors
Daniel Atherton

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

Incident OccurrenceYork man was held at gunpoint over incorrect Flock hit. Sheriff blames illegal tag cover
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York man was held at gunpoint over incorrect Flock hit. Sheriff blames illegal tag cover

York man was held at gunpoint over incorrect Flock hit. Sheriff blames illegal tag cover

heraldonline.com

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York man was held at gunpoint over incorrect Flock hit. Sheriff blames illegal tag cover
heraldonline.com · 2026

A York County man is suing the sheriff’s office after a Flock camera falsely flagged his car as stolen, prompting police to hold him at gunpoint.

According to a lawsuit filed June 29 in York County, Steven Melvin, 42, was stopped by a York …

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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