Description: Police in San Diego, California, reportedly mistook a red Alfa Romeo photographed by a Flock Safety automated license plate reader for a car linked to an attempted carjacking. Officers also relied on a witness identification. They arrested driver Ariel Beltran, passenger Hugo Parra, and a third man. Parra spent nearly a month in jail before his charges were dropped. Parra and Beltran later sued the city and officers.
Editor Notes: 11/26/2025: San Diego police reportedly arrested Hugo Parra, Ariel Beltran, and Christian Lopez during an attempted carjacking investigation in which officers relied on a Flock camera image of a similar car. The following day: Beltran reportedly posted bail. In the weeks after the arrests: According to local reporting, Parra spent nearly a month in jail before the charges against him were dropped. April 2026: Parra and Beltran reportedly filed claims against the city. Their attorney said the city later denied both claims. 11/08/2026: Incident ID created.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Surveillance technology developers , Flock Safety and Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers developed an AI system deployed by San Diego Police Department (California) , Police departments in the United States , Police departments , Law enforcement and City of San Diego, which harmed Road users , Motorists , Individuals mistakenly detained by law enforcement , Hugo Parra , Epistemic integrity , Drivers , Christian Lopez and Ariel Alonso Beltran.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Surveillance technology , Flock Safety automated license plate reader system and Automated license plate readers (ALPR)
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1811
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-11-26
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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When Hugo Parra was arrested last year on felony charges, his pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears.
San Diego police had a description of the Alfa Romeo car he was riding in and a witness who identified him during a curbside lineup as the m…
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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