Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Costa Mesa, California: a former police officer pleaded guilty in April 2026 to unauthorized computer access and two other misdemeanors after prosecutors said the officer used the department's Flock license-plate readers to locate and follow a romantic partner and her romantic interests and, while on leave in June 2024, to find a new boyfriend's address

The Orange County District Attorney said on 14 April 2026 that a former Costa Mesa police officer had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unauthorized computer access and fraud, annoying and repeated phone calls, and contempt of court. According to prosecutors, the officer made 13 non-work CLETS records inquiries in June to December 2023 on a woman with whom the officer had a relationship, someone she dated and the officer's wife, and used the department's Flock license plate reader system to locate the vehicles of the woman and her romantic interests in order to follow them. While on leave in June 2024, the officer used the Flock system again to find the address of her new boyfriend in Torrance. After she ended the relationship in April 2024, prosecutors say, the officer contacted her thousands of times, threatened to reveal explicit photos and drove by her home in breach of a restraining order. The sentence was three years of informal probation and a 52-week domestic violence programme. The city later voted to keep its Flock contract while renegotiating terms.

AI system: Flock Safety license plate readers; Flock Safety
Occurred: Jun 2023
Reported: 14 April 2026
Event location: United States

What the AI did: Made a claim about the person
Reported harm: Exploitation or Abuse

Whose AI use: An institution’s AI use
Setting: Privacy · Justice · Relationships

Evidence: AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account; 7 claims: 7 reported. 7 open questions
People reported harmed: At least 3 people

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license plate reader system used by the Costa Mesa Police Department, whose vehicle-location records the officer searched; the CLETS records database the officer also misused is not an AI system

What Happened

The Orange County District Attorney announced on 14 April 2026 that a former Costa Mesa police officer had pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized computer access and fraud, annoying and repeated phone calls, and contempt of court for violating a restraining order (case 25WF2494). The release says the officer used 'confidential law enforcement databases to track' the whereabouts of a woman with whom the officer had a relationship, her romantic partners and the officer's own wife. The sentence was three years of informal probation and a 52-week domestic violence programme. After the arrest the officer wore a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor for nine months.

According to the release, between June and December 2023 the officer made 13 inquiries in the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) on people and vehicles unrelated to the job, including the woman, someone she dated and the officer's wife. Prosecutors also say the officer accessed the department's Flock license plate reader system to locate the woman's vehicle and the vehicle of her romantic interests in order to follow them. After being placed on leave in December 2023, the officer used the Flock system again in June 2024 to find the address of the woman's new boyfriend in Torrance.

The woman ended the relationship in April 2024. Prosecutors say the officer then called, texted and messaged her thousands of times, sometimes more than 100 times in a day, threatened to reveal explicit photos of her, called her and her new boyfriend as many as 58 times in a single day and repeatedly drove by her home. On 28 June 2024 the officer was served with an emergency protective order and notice of intent to terminate, then drove by the woman's home in violation of the order and was arrested. The case was reported to California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and a certification review is pending. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said: 'No one should have to live in fear of being tracked through law enforcement databases by someone with a badge and a gun because they decided to call off a romantic relationship.'

CBS News Los Angeles relayed the release on the same day, describing the probation as formal and 28 June 2024 as the firing date. Voice of OC reported on 22 July 2026 that the Costa Mesa City Council had voted 6-1 to keep the city's contract with Flock, which runs 46 cameras in the city, while directing staff to renegotiate its terms, and that council members were asking for the cameras' data retention to be cut from 365 to 45 days; it reported that much of the community opposition stemmed from this case and that about 170 city employees can access the cameras.

Reported harm

According to the Orange County District Attorney, a police officer used the department's Flock plate-reader records to locate and follow a woman and her romantic interests and to find a new boyfriend's address, looked up the woman, someone she dated and the officer's wife in a law-enforcement records database, and harassed the woman and her new boyfriend with thousands of calls and messages and a threat to reveal explicit photos; the former officer pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors.

Outcome

Resolved

Guilty plea to one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized computer access and fraud, annoying and repeated phone calls, and contempt of court (Orange County District Attorney, case 25WF2494, release of 14 April 2026); sentenced to three years of informal probation (CBS: formal) and a 52-week domestic violence programme; nine months on a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor after arrest. Served with an emergency protective order and notice of intent to terminate on 28 June 2024. Reported to California POST; certification review pending. On 21 July 2026 the Costa Mesa City Council voted 6-1 to keep its Flock contract while renegotiating terms (Voice of OC).

What remains unknown

The dates and number of the 2023 Flock searches; the release places the CLETS inquiries in June to December 2023 and says the Flock access continued in June 2024 after the December 2023 leave.
Whether 'someone she dated' (CLETS, 2023), the 'romantic interests' located through Flock and the 2024 'new boyfriend' are the same or different people.
Which system the computer-access count covers: the release does not say; Voice of OC relates it to the plate-reader system.
Whether probation is formal or informal (the release says informal, CBS says formal), the plea date and the court; the court record was not inspected.
The date of the restraining-order violation and arrest (after 28 June 2024) and the period of the 'nine months' of contact.
The outcome of the POST certification review.
Any statement by the people tracked about the effect on them; none is reported in the inspected sources.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Orange County District Attorney's release says the officer is accused of accessing the Costa Mesa Police Department's Flock license plate reader system to locate the woman's vehicle and the vehicles of her romantic interests in order to follow them, and of accessing it in June 2024 to find a new boyfriend's address; the former officer pleaded guilty to unauthorized computer access and fraud among other counts. The automated readers generated the vehicle-location records about these people; the searches and the stalking were human acts. The CLETS lookups and the calls and messages did not involve an AI system. The release frames the Flock access as an accusation; the plea does not specify which system the computer-access count covers.

7 claims: 7 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to prosecutors, between June and December 2023 the Costa Mesa police officer made 13 inquiries in the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) records database on people and vehicles unrelated to the job, including the woman with whom the officer had a relationship, someone she dated and the officer's own wife.

Causal attribution. Prosecutors' allegation as stated in the district attorney's release. CLETS is a records database and is not the AI system in this case.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'using the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) database to make 13 inquiries on people and vehicles not related to his job, including his mistress, someone she dated, and his own wife'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'to gather information on people and vehicles not related to his job, including his mistress, someone she dated, and his wife in 2023'

Reported According to prosecutors, the officer accessed the police department's Flock license plate reader system to locate the woman's vehicle and the vehicle of her romantic interests in order to follow them to their locations.

Causal attribution. Prosecutors' allegation. The automated readers generated the vehicle-location records; the searches and the following were the officer's acts.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'accessing the police department’s FLOCK license plate reader system in order to locate his mistress’ vehicle and the vehicle of the woman’s romantic interests in order to follow them to their locations'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'He is also accused of using FLOCK license plate readers to track his mistress and her romantic interests'
voiceofoc.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'accessing information from Flock cameras and using it to locate his mistress’ vehicle and the vehicles of her romantic interests in order to follow them to their locations'

Reported According to prosecutors, after being placed on leave in December 2023, the officer again accessed the department's Flock license plate reader system in June 2024 to find the address of the woman's new boyfriend in Torrance.

Causal attribution. Prosecutors' allegation; Voice of OC's relay says the 2024 access came after the officer lost the job, where the release says the officer was on leave.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'placed on leave from the Costa Mesa Police Department in December 2023, he continued to illegally access the police department’s FLOCK license plate reader system in June 2024 in order to find out the address of his mistress’ new boyfriend in Torrance'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'used the cameras to find his mistress’ new boyfriend’s address in June 2024'
voiceofoc.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'used the information to find the address of his mistress’ new boyfriend in Torrance'

Reported According to prosecutors, after the woman ended the relationship in April 2024 the officer contacted her thousands of times by text, phone and social media, sometimes more than 100 times in a day, threatened to reveal explicit photos of her, called her and her new boyfriend as many as 58 times in a single day and repeatedly drove by her home.

Causal attribution. Prosecutors' allegation; this conduct did not involve the AI system.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'Beginning in April 2024, after his mistress called off their relationship'; 'repeatedly calling, texting, and sending social media messages to his mistress, threatening to reveal explicit photos of her'; 'calling her and her new boyfriend repeatedly, as many as 58 times in a single day, and repeatedly driving by her home'; 'sometimes more than 100 times in a day, over nine months'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'allegedly threatened to post explicit photos of her and demanded to know if she was seeing anyone else'; 'called her and her new boyfriend relentlessly, as many as 58 times in one day, according to prosecutors'

Reported On 28 June 2024 the officer was served with an emergency protective order and notice of intent to terminate; after leaving the department the officer drove by the woman's home in violation of the restraining order, was arrested and then wore a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor for nine months.

Causal attribution. District attorney's account. CBS describes 28 June 2024 as the firing date; the release describes a notice of intent to terminate.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'was served with an emergency protective order and given notice of intent to terminate from the Costa Mesa Police Department'; 'drove by his mistress’ home in violation of the restraining order and was arrested'; 'he spent nine months wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) context · English
'was fired by the Costa Mesa Police Department on June 28, 2024'

Reported The former officer pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized computer access and fraud, annoying and repeated phone calls, and contempt of court for violating a restraining order, and was sentenced to three years of informal probation and a 52-week domestic violence programme; the case was reported to California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, whose certification review is pending.

Causal attribution. The prosecutor's release; the court record was not inspected. CBS reports formal probation. The release does not say which system the computer-access count covers; Voice of OC relates it to the plate-reader system.

ocdistrictattorney.gov(opens in new tab) supports · English
'pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of unauthorized computer access and fraud, one misdemeanor count of annoying and repeated phone calls, and one misdemeanor count of contempt of court for violating a restraining order'; 'ordered to complete a 52-week domestic violence program and was sentenced to three years informal probation'; 'his certification review is pending'
cbsnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors, including unauthorized computer access and fraud; annoying and repeated phone calls; and contempt of court for violating the restraining order'
voiceofoc.org(opens in new tab) context · English
'pleaded guilty in April to three misdemeanors, including unauthorized computer access and fraud related to illegally accessing the police department’s license plate reader system'

Reported Costa Mesa City Council voted 6-1 on 21 July 2026 to keep the city's contract with Flock, which operates 46 license plate reader cameras in the city, while directing staff to renegotiate its terms; Voice of OC reports that much of the community pushback stemmed from this case.

Causal attribution. Voice of OC's own reporting of the council meeting held on the Tuesday before its 22 July 2026 article.

voiceofoc.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'Costa Mesa City Council members voted 6-1 to keep the city’s contract with Flock'; 'who operates the 46 automated license plate reader cameras in town'; 'Much of the community pushback over Flock cameras stems from a stalking scandal involving an officer from the Costa Mesa Police Department'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

Orange County District Attorney press release, 14 April 2026 (case 25WF2494)(opens in new tab)
s1 · ocdistrictattorney.gov · Press release · English · Inspected · 14 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
CBS News Los Angeles, 14 April 2026: Ex-Costa Mesa police officer accused of using FLOCK cameras to track his mistress(opens in new tab)
s2 · cbsnews.com · Local tv news · English · Inspected · 14 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
Voice of OC, 22 July 2026: Costa Mesa Keeps Controversial Flock Cameras, Looks to Clean Up Contract Next Year(opens in new tab)
s3 · voiceofoc.org · News report · English · Inspected · 22 July 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-03 (Orange County District Attorney press release dated 14 April 2026, case 25WF2494; datePublished 2026-04-14T23:45Z). The page's URL slug, which is also its canonical URL, belongs to an older unrelated release; the title, heading and body are the Costa Mesa release. The full-release PDF linked from the page has the same text. Even after the plea, the release describes the database, plate-reader and harassment details as what the former officer 'is accused of'. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 from the Internet Archive capture of 18 July 2026 (the live site returned HTTP 406). CBS News Los Angeles, 14 April 2026, updated 10:27 PM PDT. Relays the district attorney's release with no independent reporting. It differs from the release on two details: it says 'formal' probation where the release says informal, and that the officer was fired on 28 June 2024 where the release says notice of intent to terminate was given that day. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-03 from the Internet Archive capture of 4 September 2026 (the live site returned HTTP 429). Voice of OC, 22 July 2026. Its account of the case is attributed to the district attorney's office and is grouped with the release; its report of the city council vote is its own reporting. It describes the computer-access count as related to the plate-reader system, which the release does not specify, and says the 2024 access came after the officer lost the job, where the release says the officer was on leave. Applies to s3.

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

The department's plate-reader system is in Costa Mesa, California, and the new boyfriend's address that was looked up is in Torrance, California (district attorney's release); the case was prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney (case 25WF2494). The woman's and the wife's places of residence are not stated beyond the release's references to the woman's home.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-03: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional privacy and safety case: a police officer used the department's automated license-plate-reader records to locate and follow a romantic partner and her romantic interests and later to find a new boyfriend's address, according to the district attorney, and pleaded guilty to misdemeanors including unauthorized computer access. One reporting chain (the prosecutor's release and two relays) plus Voice of OC's council reporting. The officer is named in the release but not here; the people tracked are not named in any source. The AI component generated the location records and the misuse is recorded as a human act.

People described

A woman with whom the officer had a relationship, at least one of her romantic partners (including a new boyfriend in Torrance) and the officer's wife; none is named in the sources

People reported harmed in this case

At least 3 people

0 AI participants · 3 other people harmed

District attorney's release: the woman; at least one of her romantic partners (the new boyfriend in Torrance, whose address was found through Flock and who was called repeatedly); and the officer's wife (looked up through CLETS). Documented minimum 3. Through the Flock system specifically, the release supports at least 2 (the woman and at least one romantic interest). 'Someone she dated', the 'romantic interests' and the 'new boyfriend' may be the same or different people, so they are counted once.

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

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Costa Mesa, California: a former police officer pleaded guilty in April 2026 to unauthorized computer access and two other misdemeanors after prosecutors said the officer used the department's Flock license-plate readers to locate and follow a romantic partner and her romantic interests and, while on leave in June 2024, to find a new boyfriend's address. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-costa-mesa-former-officer-flock-alpr-tracked-partner-and-rivals-guilty-plea

BibTeX

@misc{2023_costa_mesa_former_officer_flock_alpr_tracked_partner_and_rivals_guilty_plea,
  title = {Costa Mesa, California: a former police officer pleaded guilty in April 2026 to unauthorized computer access and two other misdemeanors after prosecutors said the officer used the department's Flock license-plate readers to locate and follow a romantic partner and her romantic interests and, while on leave in June 2024, to find a new boyfriend's address},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-costa-mesa-former-officer-flock-alpr-tracked-partner-and-rivals-guilty-plea}
}

Katy, Texas: a former police officer is indicted in Fort Bend County on felony stalking and misuse of official information, accused of using the Katy Police Department's Flock license-plate readers to track his ex-wife's location between November 2024 and April 2025 and of placing a tracking device on her vehicle; he was fired and has pleaded not guilty

A former Katy Police Department officer faces two third-degree felony indictments in Fort Bend County, Texas, for stalking and misuse of official information, according to court records reported by KPRC 2 and Houston Public Media (25 August 2026). Prosecutors accuse him of using the department's Flock license-plate-reader system to track his ex-wife's location on more than one occasion between November 2024 and April 2025, and the stalking indictment also accuses him of placing a tracking device on her vehicle; it alleges the conduct caused her to feel harassed, alarmed and tormented. The Katy Police Department says the ex-wife complained in October 2025 that she believed he was tracking her whereabouts, that its investigation found he had misused the Flock system to run her plate, and that he was suspended, fired and referred to the Fort Bend County District Attorney. He was arrested in May 2026, released on bond with conditions barring contact with her and use of tracking devices and law-enforcement databases, and has pleaded not guilty. The department says the same Flock system that was abused was used to bring the charges.

Low Flock Safety license plate readers

Stow, Massachusetts: a police detective resigned amid termination proceedings after an internal-affairs investigation found that the officer ran vehicle searches through Flock license-plate readers and state criminal-justice systems with no law-enforcement reason to get information about a Worcester County resident known to the officer; the department sought criminal charges and ended its Flock contract

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.

Medium Flock Safety license plate readers

Sedgwick, Kansas: the town's police chief ran his ex-girlfriend's plate through Flock license-plate readers 164 times and her new boyfriend's 64 times between June and October 2023 and followed them in his police vehicle, according to the state police-certification commission, which revoked his certification; he resigned in October 2023 and was not charged

According to an order of the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training (KSCPOST) reported by the Wichita Eagle and KAKE in August 2024, the police chief of Sedgwick, Kansas, used the city's Flock Safety license-plate readers to check his ex-girlfriend's whereabouts 164 times between 24 June and 5 October 2023 and her new boyfriend's 64 times between 11 August and 10 October 2023, logging reasons such as missing child and drug investigation. The order says he also used his police vehicle to follow the two of them outside Sedgwick and on other occasions to keep tabs on them, and that he confronted the woman and told her to get back to town. He first said he was following them because of drug issues but admitted that jealousy was involved. He was placed on leave in October 2023 over unrelated misconduct allegations, admitted the Flock misuse during that investigation, and resigned on 20 October 2023. KSCPOST revoked his certification. The city administrator said the case did not appear sufficient for a criminal investigation, and no charges were filed. The city later cut back its Flock cameras.

Medium Flock Safety license plate readers

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.

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