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NOPE
Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Kechi, Kansas: a police lieutenant used the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location; arrested in October 2022, he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking in April 2023

According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney, a lieutenant of the Kechi Police Department in Kansas took advantage of his position to use the Flock License Plate Reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location. The woman had told a friend that she was scared and thought he was somehow tracking her whereabouts, and the friend asked a Wichita police officer how someone could get a protection-from-stalking order. Wichita police arrested the lieutenant on 26 October 2022 and he was removed from the Kechi department. On 5 April 2023 he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors, and was sentenced to a controlling term of 24 months in jail, with probation granted for 18 months. The Wichita Police Department, whose Flock system he had used, revoked the whole Kechi department's access and said it would audit the system weekly, and the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards revoked his certification in August 2023.

AI system
Flock Safety license plate readers
Flock Safety
Occurred
23 Oct 2022
Reported
30 October 2022
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Made a claim about the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbusePsychological Distress
Whose AI use
An institution’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Justice · Relationships
Evidence
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 6 sources, 5 underlying accounts
7 claims: 7 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader camera system operated by the Wichita Police Department, which the Kechi lieutenant accessed through his police position (DA release; KWCH)

What Happened

The Sedgwick County District Attorney's news release of 5 April 2023 states that the former lieutenant of the Kechi Police Department took advantage of his position in the department to use the Flock License Plate Reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location. According to the release, the woman had told a friend that she was scared and thought he was somehow tracking her whereabouts; the friend later contacted a Wichita police officer and asked how someone could get a protection-from-stalking order. KWCH reported on 30 October 2022 that the Wichita Police Department had arrested the lieutenant after it was discovered he had used his position to unlawfully access the department's Flock license-plate-reader technology to monitor where his estranged wife was located; he was booked on one count of stalking and one count of unlawful acts concerning computers and removed from the department. The release gives the arrest date as 26 October. On 5 April 2023 he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors, and Judge David Kaufman sentenced him to a controlling term of 24 months in jail with probation for 18 months. On 4 November 2022 the Wichita Police Department's interim chief confirmed to KWCH that the department had revoked the entire Kechi Police Department's access to its Flock camera system, was reviewing its policies and procedures, such as requiring supervisors from other agencies to review and approve data requests before access, and would audit the system weekly instead of every two weeks. A Flock Safety vice president told KWCH that every user logs in with a unique user ID, that every keystroke is logged for audit, and that the cameras photograph the back of every passing car and delete the photos after 30 days unless they are part of an investigation. In August 2023 the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards revoked the former lieutenant's certification (KWCH). The Wichita Eagle, recapping the case in August 2024 and citing a court document, reports that he searched the Wichita police Flock cameras on 23 October 2022 for his estranged wife's movements from 23 September 2022 until that day, and that the search reasons he entered were never flagged; the sources do not state how often the system was queried or which vehicle was tracked.

Reported harm

According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney, the woman's location was monitored by her estranged husband, a police lieutenant, through the Flock license-plate-reader system, and she told a friend she was scared and thought he was tracking her; he pleaded guilty to stalking and computer crime.

Outcome

Resolved

Wichita police arrested the lieutenant on 26 October 2022 and booked him on one count of stalking and one count of unlawful acts concerning computers; he was removed from the Kechi Police Department (KWCH, 30 October 2022). On 5 April 2023 in Sedgwick County District Court he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors, and was sentenced to a controlling term of 24 months in jail, from which he was granted probation for 18 months (Sedgwick County District Attorney). The Wichita Police Department revoked the Kechi department's access to its Flock system, said it was reviewing its policies and said it would audit the system weekly instead of every two weeks (KWCH, 4 November 2022). The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards revoked his law enforcement certification (KWCH, 30 August 2023).

What remains unknown

  • Which vehicle's plate reads were used to locate the woman.
  • Whether a protection-from-stalking order was obtained.
  • Whether Flock audit logs or the friend's report led to the discovery.
  • How many times the Flock system was queried.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. The Sedgwick County District Attorney states that the lieutenant used the Flock License Plate Reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location, and KWCH's arrest report describes unlawful access to the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader technology for that purpose; he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking. The automated readers photograph the back of every passing car (Flock executive to KWCH); the plate-read records used to monitor the woman's whereabouts were the system's output, and the misuse was a human act. The sources do not describe the readers as AI.

7 claims: 7 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The Kechi police lieutenant used his position to access the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader system and monitor his estranged wife's location.

Causal attribution. The DA's sentencing release and KWCH's arrest-stage report, five months apart, both state the Flock use; both ultimately rest on the Wichita police investigation. The guilty plea was to computer crime and stalking; the Flock detail is the prosecutor's and police account. Recorded as reported: the KWCH arrest report and the DA release both rest on the Wichita police investigation, so they are not independent support.

  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'took advantage of his position in the department to use the Flock License Plate Reader system to monitor his estranged wife’s location'
  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'unlawfully access WPD’s flock license plate reader technology to monitor where his estranged wife was located'
  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    'This comes after a Kechi lieutenant’s arrest for illegally using the system to stalk his estranged wife.'
Reported On 5 April 2023 he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors, and was sentenced to a controlling term of 24 months in jail, from which he was granted probation for 18 months.

Causal attribution. The DA's announcement, relayed by KSN; no court record was inspected.

  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The former lieutenant of the Kechi Police Department pled guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors.'; 'to a controlling term of 24 months in jail from which he was granted probation for 18 months'
  • ksn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'has been sentenced after pleading guilty to computer crime and stalking'
Reported The woman had told a friend that she was scared and thought he was somehow tracking her whereabouts; the friend contacted a Wichita police officer and asked how someone could get a protection-from-stalking order.

Causal attribution. The DA's account of the woman's statement to a friend; KSN relays the same release.

  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'told a friend she was scared and thought'; 'was somehow tracking her whereabouts'; 'asked how someone could get a protection from stalking order'
  • ksn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She confided in a friend that she was scared'
Reported Wichita police arrested him on 26 October 2022; he was booked on one count of stalking and one count of unlawful acts concerning computers and removed from the Kechi Police Department.

Causal attribution. Arrest date from the DA release; booking counts and removal from KWCH's arrest report.

  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was arrested by Wichita police on October 26, 2022'
  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'has since been removed from the department'; 'for one count of stalking and one count of unlawful acts concerning computers'
Reported The Wichita Police Department revoked the entire Kechi Police Department's access to its Flock camera system, said it was reviewing its policies and procedures, such as requiring supervisors from other agencies to review and approve data requests, and said it would audit the system weekly instead of every two weeks.

Causal attribution. The interim chief's statements to KWCH.

  • kwch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'license plate reading camera system to the entire Kechi Police Department, WPD Interim Chief Troy Livingston confirmed'; 'needing assigned supervisors from those agencies to review and approve data requests'; 'audit the system every week instead of every two weeks'
Reported The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards revoked the former lieutenant's law enforcement certification in August 2023.

Causal attribution. KWCH's report of the commission action; no commission record was inspected.

Reported The Wichita Eagle, recapping the case in August 2024, reports that on 23 October 2022 the lieutenant used the Wichita police Flock cameras to track his estranged wife's movements from 23 September 2022 until that day, that he entered search reasons such as 'test' and 'investigation' that were never flagged, and that he was caught after she complained that, based on his texts, she felt she was being followed.

Causal attribution. The Eagle's account citing a court document, which was not inspected; it is consistent with the DA release.

  • kansas.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Flock cameras on Oct. 23, 2022, to track his estranged wife’s movements from Sept. 23, 2022 until that day.'; 'texts, she felt she was being followed.'; 'The former Kechi officer used several different reasons for his search, which never got flagged.'; 'Those reasons, according to a court document, included “test” and “invest” and “investigation”'

Sources

6 sources inspected, from 5 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live on 2026-10-03 (KWCH, 5 April 2023). Relays the Sedgwick County District Attorney's release of the same day nearly verbatim; the release itself was read privately from an Internet Archive capture and is recorded in the private review notes. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 (live; byline Joe Baker; published 30 October 2022, 10:38 PM CDT). Arrest-stage report five months before the DA release; it does not attribute its account, which presumably comes from the arresting Wichita Police Department. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 (live; Shawn Loging and KWCH Staff; published 4 November 2022). On-record statements by the Wichita Police Department interim chief and a Flock Safety vice president. Applies to s3.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 from the Internet Archive capture of 13 April 2023 (live site answered 403). A rewrite of the DA's 5 April 2023 release (same facts and order), so grouped with it. Applies to s4.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 (live; KWCH Staff; published 30 August 2023). Reports the state commission's certification revocation; its sentencing details relay the DA release. Applies to s5.

Read on 2026-10-03 from the Internet Archive capture of 21 July 2026 (Wichita Eagle, 17 August 2024, an article on a different Sedgwick police chief case that recaps the Kechi case citing a court document); the live site timed out. Applies to s6.

Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: United States.

The lieutenant served with the Kechi Police Department and used the Wichita Police Department's Flock system in Kansas; Wichita police made the arrest and the case was sentenced in Sedgwick County District Court, Kansas (DA release; KWCH). The woman's residence is not stated; affected_person_countries US rests on her location being monitored through the Wichita Police Department's Kansas camera system and on her friend's approach to a Wichita police officer about a protection-from-stalking order.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-03: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional privacy and safety case, consistent with the held Flock officer-misuse rows: the Sedgwick County District Attorney states that a police lieutenant used the Flock license-plate-reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location, KWCH's arrest report states the same, and he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking. The automated readers generated the location records; the misuse is recorded as a human act. Neither the officer nor the woman is named here.

People described

A woman, the estranged wife of the Kechi police lieutenant (not named here)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the lieutenant's estranged wife, whose location was monitored (DA release; KWCH; KSN). Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#flock#alpr#license-plate-reader#stalking#police-misuse#estranged-spouse#kansas#kechi#wichita#sedgwick-county#criminal-conviction

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Kechi, Kansas: a police lieutenant used the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location; arrested in October 2022, he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking in April 2023. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2022-kechi-kansas-police-lieutenant-flock-alpr-stalked-estranged-wife-sentenced

BibTeX

@misc{2022_kechi_kansas_police_lieutenant_flock_alpr_stalked_estranged_wife_sentenced,
  title = {Kechi, Kansas: a police lieutenant used the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader system to monitor his estranged wife's location; arrested in October 2022, he pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking in April 2023},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2022-kechi-kansas-police-lieutenant-flock-alpr-stalked-estranged-wife-sentenced}
}

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Low Flock Safety license plate readers

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The Stow Police Department in Massachusetts placed an officer, a detective and acting sergeant, on administrative leave on 18 June 2026, within three hours of a complaint from a Worcester County resident who was known to the officer. According to the department, an internal-affairs investigation found that the officer tried to obtain personal information about the resident several times in 2024 and 2025, ran vehicle information through Flock Safety's license-plate-reader system and the state Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) system on multiple dates with no legitimate law-enforcement reason, and accessed criminal offender record information at least five times. The Sentinel and Enterprise reports that the resident has been reported to be a former girlfriend. After a criminal investigation into the CJIS queries, the department filed a criminal complaint on 17 July seeking charges and referred the matter to the Middlesex District Attorney, sent its report to the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, and ended its relationship with Flock Safety, removing its last camera in early August. The officer, on unpaid leave from 31 July, later resigned amid termination proceedings. No charging decision has been reported.

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