Flock Safety automated license plate reader system
Incidents implicated systems
Incident 16906 Report
Kechi, Kansas, Police Lieutenant Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Monitor Estranged Wife
2022-10-23
Kechi, Kansas police lieutenant Victor Heiar used Wichita police's Flock Safety license-plate reader system to search his estranged wife's plate and review her movements over the prior month. An arrest affidavit said Heiar acknowledged knowing the use was improper; his wife said she felt violated and unsafe. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stalking and computer crime and received 18 months' probation.
MoreIncident 17175 Report
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
2024-04-11
Toledo, Ohio, police stopped motorist Brandon Upchurch at gunpoint after a Flock Safety license-plate reader incorrectly matched his truck to a stolen plate. Officers released a K-9 that bit him and arrested him. Police later said the alert was a misread; one officer was reprimanded for failing to verify the plate, and all charges against Upchurch were later dropped.
MoreIncident 15953 Report
Deputies in Cherokee County, Georgia, Allegedly Misused Automated License Plate Reader Data for Non-Law-Enforcement Purposes
2026-06-12
An internal audit by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office in Georgia reportedly found that deputies Cynthia Jodesty, Chris Bryant, and Mike Creeden used the agency's automated license plate reader database for non-law-enforcement purposes in violation of policy and state law.
MoreIncident 16892 Report
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System for 189 Non-Law-Enforcement Searches
2022-01-01
From January 2022 through December 2025, a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office lieutenant in Texas reportedly used Flock Safety's license-plate reader system to search two vehicle plates 189 times and admitted the searches were unrelated to official law-enforcement work. A resident alleged stalking and feared for their family's safety. Internal affairs found department-order violations and imposed a two-day suspension.
MoreRelated Entities
Other entities that are related to the same incident. For example, if the developer of an incident is this entity but the deployer is another entity, they are marked as related entities.
Related Entities
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia)
Incidents Harmed By
Incidents involved as Deployer
Privacy
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 16906 Reports
Kechi, Kansas, Police Lieutenant Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Monitor Estranged Wife
- Incident 15953 Reports
Deputies in Cherokee County, Georgia, Allegedly Misused Automated License Plate Reader Data for Non-Law-Enforcement Purposes
Incidents involved as Developer
Individuals whose license plate data were accessed for non-law-enforcement purposes
Incidents Harmed By
Law enforcement databases
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 15953 Reports
Deputies in Cherokee County, Georgia, Allegedly Misused Automated License Plate Reader Data for Non-Law-Enforcement Purposes
- Incident 16892 Reports
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System for 189 Non-Law-Enforcement Searches
Automated license plate readers (ALPR)
Incidents implicated systems
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 15953 Reports
Deputies in Cherokee County, Georgia, Allegedly Misused Automated License Plate Reader Data for Non-Law-Enforcement Purposes
Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers
Incidents involved as Developer
- Incident 16906 Reports
Kechi, Kansas, Police Lieutenant Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Monitor Estranged Wife
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
Incidents implicated systems
Road users
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
Motorists
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
Drivers
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 16941 Report
Jackson Township Police in Stark County, Ohio Briefly Detained Driver After Flock Safety Alert Matched Vehicle to Stale Missing-Juvenile Hot-List Entry
Victims of stalking
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 16971 Report
Former Costa Mesa, California, Police Officer Reportedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Track Woman He Was Seeing and Her Romantic Partners
- Incident 17161 Report
Former Coffee County, Georgia, Deputy Allegedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader System to Track Woman
Epistemic integrity
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 16981 Report
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate Digit, Prompting Gunpoint Stop of Two Sisters in Española, New Mexico
Incidents involved as Developer
Individuals mistakenly detained by law enforcement
Incidents Harmed By
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 17031 Report
Harris County, Texas, Deputies Reportedly Detained Two 19-Year-Olds at Gunpoint After Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Detected Different Stolen Camaro
Police departments in the United States
Incidents involved as Deployer
- Incident 17175 Reports
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate, Leading Toledo, Ohio, Police to Stop Motorist at Gunpoint and Deploy K-9
- Incident 17062 Reports
Milwaukee Police Detective Allegedly Used Flock Safety License-Plate Reader 20 Times to Track Two People in Violation of Department Policy