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Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Hancock County, Indiana: a sheriff's deputy is accused of running more than 6,190 Flock license-plate-reader searches on his wife, former girlfriends and others between December 2024 and March 2026; arrested and charged in September 2026

Indiana State Police arrested a Hancock County Sheriff's Office deputy on 24 September 2026 on charges of intimidation, official misconduct and fraud. According to the state police, an investigation that began in April 2026 over threatening text messages the deputy sent to a family member uncovered unauthorized searches in the automatic license-plate-reader camera database that were specific to people he was familiar with. Court documents reported by the Indianapolis Star allege more than 6,190 Flock searches between December 2024 and March 2026, only 40 of them on duty, including more than 1,100 searches for his wife's vehicle, more than 1,100 for a man who knew his wife, more than 200 for a former girlfriend from high school and searches for another former girlfriend's husband. He is also accused of pulling over a former girlfriend's child after finding them through a Flock search. The charges are allegations; a court date was set for 29 October 2026.

AI system
Flock Safety license plate readers
Flock Safety
Occurred
Dec 2024 to Mar 2026
Reported
24 September 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 · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts
6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 4 people

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader camera system and search database used by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, which the deputy searched through his police access (Indiana State Police; Indianapolis Star)

What Happened

The Indiana State Police news release of 24 September 2026, carried verbatim by WBIW and rewritten by WISH-TV, states that in April 2026 the state police received a request to investigate an allegation of intimidation by a 33-year-old Hancock County sheriff's deputy. The Hancock County Sheriff had referred the matter to the McCordsville Police Department, which forwarded it to the state police, and the deputy was placed on leave. The allegation stemmed from threatening text messages the deputy sent to another person. According to the release, as the investigation progressed detectives discovered evidence of improper use of automatic license-plate-reading cameras, and an extensive audit found unauthorized searches in the license-plate-reading camera database that were specific to people the deputy was familiar with. Detectives submitted probable cause for intimidation, official misconduct and fraud, and served an arrest warrant on 24 September 2026. The Indianapolis Star, in an article syndicated by InkFreeNews on 28 September 2026, reports that the person who received the texts was a family member, that the texts warned them never to contact his family again and said their children would suffer, and that the family member also said the deputy was stalking and confronting people using police technology. Citing court documents, it reports more than 6,190 alleged searches between December 2024 and March 2026, including more than 1,100 for his wife's vehicle, more than 1,100 for a man who knew his wife, more than 200 for a former girlfriend from high school and searches for another former girlfriend's husband; only 40 were made on duty, and the deputy entered reasons such as 'OWI arrest' or 'police investigation' although none of the people searched had any major criminal history in the county. It also reports that he performed a traffic stop on a former girlfriend's child after finding them via a Flock search. WIBC's account of the charging documents, relayed by the Hoosier Enquirer, gives different per-person figures (more than 900 searches each for his wife's vehicle and a man's plate, entered as 'DUI traffic studies', and more than 220 for vehicles tied to a former girlfriend and her husband) and reports that the former girlfriend's daughter said the deputy tailgated her during a January traffic stop after her vehicle had been searched on Flock nine times. The sources do not say how the searched people learned of the tracking. The sources do not describe the readers as AI.

Reported harm

According to court documents reported by the Indianapolis Star, a sheriff's deputy searched the vehicles of his wife, former girlfriends and other people he knew thousands of times in the Flock license-plate-reader system without a law enforcement purpose, and pulled over a former girlfriend's child after finding them through a Flock search; the charges are allegations.

Outcome

Pending

The Hancock County Sheriff referred the intimidation allegation to the McCordsville Police Department, which forwarded it to the Indiana State Police; the deputy was placed on leave when the allegations were made (Indiana State Police release, 24 September 2026). Working with the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office, state police detectives submitted probable cause for intimidation, official misconduct and fraud; a warrant was issued and served on 24 September 2026 and the deputy was booked into the Hancock County Jail (Indiana State Police). The Indianapolis Star reports more than 440 counts of official misconduct and fraud and a court date of 29 October 2026. WIBC, as relayed by the Hoosier Enquirer, reports 441 counts in all (220 of fraud, 220 of official misconduct and one of intimidation) and that the sheriff's office placed him on unpaid administrative leave while its merit board considers termination. The state police release says the charges are merely accusations and that all suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

What remains unknown

  • The exact per-person search counts: the Indianapolis Star reports more than 1,100 searches each for the wife's vehicle and for a man who knew the wife, while WIBC (as relayed) reports more than 900 each.
  • How many former girlfriends were searched, and whether the man who knew the wife is the same person as the other former girlfriend's husband.
  • Whether the people searched knew of the tracking before the April 2026 investigation.
  • The outcome of the criminal case and of the sheriff's employment proceedings.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Indiana State Police state that an audit found unauthorized searches in the automatic license-plate-reading camera database specific to people the deputy was familiar with, and the Indianapolis Star, citing court documents, describes more than 6,190 searches of Flock cameras, including searches for his wife's vehicle and former girlfriends. The plate-read records used to locate the people's vehicles were the system's output, and the misuse was a human act. The sources do not describe the readers as AI.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to court documents reported by the Indianapolis Star, the deputy made more than 6,190 Flock searches between December 2024 and March 2026, including more than 1,100 for his wife's vehicle, more than 1,100 for a man who knew his wife, more than 200 for a former girlfriend from high school and searches for another former girlfriend's husband; only 40 were made on duty.

Causal attribution. The figures come from court documents as reported by the Indianapolis Star; the probable-cause filing was not inspected. WIBC's account of the same documents, relayed by the Hoosier Enquirer, gives a similar total but different per-person counts, so the counts are recorded as reported.

  • inkfreenews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Over 6,190 alleged searches were made between December 2024 and March 2026, which included over 1,100 searches for his wife’s vehicle, over 1,100 for a man who knew his wife, over 200 for an ex-girlfriend from'; 'searches for another ex-girlfriend’s husband'; 'Only 40 of these searches were conducted while on-duty.'
  • hoosierenquirer.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    'found nearly 6,200 Flock searches between December 2024 and March 2026'
Reported The Indiana State Police investigation began in April 2026 with an intimidation allegation over threatening text messages from the deputy, and an extensive audit then found unauthorized searches in the license-plate-reading camera database that were specific to people he was familiar with.

Causal attribution. The state police account; WISH rewrites the same release.

  • wbiw.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'In April of 2026, Indiana State Police received a request to conduct an investigation into an allegation of intimidation.'; 'Through an extensive audit, detectives found unauthorized searches in the license plate reading camera database.'; 'The searches were specific to people'
  • wishtv.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'An extensive audit of the license plate reader database found unauthorized searches involving people'
Reported The deputy is accused of performing a traffic stop on a former girlfriend's child after finding them through a Flock search.

Causal attribution. The Indianapolis Star's account of the court documents; the Hoosier Enquirer relays WIBC's report of the child's own statement, which adds that the vehicle had been searched on Flock nine times. Both rest on the charging papers and are allegations.

Reported The deputy entered reasons such as 'OWI arrest' or 'police investigation' for the searches, although none of the people searched had any major criminal history in the county.

Causal attribution. The Indianapolis Star's account of the court documents.

  • inkfreenews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'filled out reasons such as “OWI arrest” or “police investigation” for each of these searches'; 'despite none of his victims having any major criminal history in the county'
Reported The deputy was arrested on 24 September 2026 on a warrant for intimidation, official misconduct and fraud and booked into the Hancock County Jail; he had been placed on leave when the allegations were made, and a court date was set for 29 October 2026.

Causal attribution. The state police release dated 24 September 2026 and the Indianapolis Star's report; no court record was inspected.

  • wbiw.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'detectives ultimately submitted probable cause for intimidation, official misconduct, and fraud'; 'it was served this morning by Indiana State Police Detectives'
  • inkfreenews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was arrested on Thursday, Sept. 24 on charges of intimidation, official misconduct and fraud'; 'on leave when the allegations were first made'; 'He has a court date scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29.'
Reported The person who received the threatening texts was a family member, who also told police that the deputy was stalking and confronting people using police technology.

Causal attribution. The Indianapolis Star, citing the state police release and court documents. The text messages are part of the intimidation charge and are not attributed to the camera system.

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; published 28 September 2026). Syndicated Indianapolis Star article; it cites the state police release and court documents. Its per-person figures match WXIN's report of the same court documents (read privately via a WKRC relay), so both are treated as one chain resting on the probable-cause filing, which was not inspected. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; published 24 September 2026). WBIW posts the Indiana State Police news release verbatim; the release does not name Flock. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; published 24 September 2026). A rewrite of the state police release, so grouped with it. Applies to s3.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; published 25 September 2026). An aggregator article that relays WIBC's account of the charging documents (WIBC itself was not read) together with the state police release; its per-person search figures differ from the Indianapolis Star's. Applies to s4.

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

The deputy served with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office in Indiana, the Indiana State Police investigated, and he was booked into the Hancock County Jail on charges prepared with the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office (state police release). The residences of the people searched are not stated; affected_person_countries US rests on their vehicles being searched in the Indiana sheriff's camera database, on the deputy's traffic stop of a former girlfriend's child, and on the court documents' statement that none of them had major criminal history in the county.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional privacy and safety case, consistent with the held Flock officer-misuse rows: the Indiana State Police state that a sheriff's deputy ran unauthorized license-plate-reader searches on people he knew, and court documents reported by the Indianapolis Star identify those people as including his wife and former girlfriends and describe a traffic stop of a former girlfriend's child after a Flock search. The charges are allegations. The automated readers generated the location records; the misuse is recorded as a human act. Neither the deputy nor the people searched are named here.

People described

People the deputy knew, including his wife, a man who knew his wife, at least one former girlfriend, the husband of another former girlfriend and a former girlfriend's child (none named here)

People reported harmed in this case

At least 4 people

0 AI participants · 4 other people harmed

The Indianapolis Star, citing court documents, itemises searches for the deputy's wife's vehicle, a man who knew his wife, a former girlfriend from high school and another former girlfriend's husband, and a traffic stop of a former girlfriend's child found through a Flock search. The man who knew the wife may be the same person as the other former girlfriend's husband, and the child's parent may be the high-school former girlfriend, so the safe distinct minimum is four (wife, high-school former girlfriend, at least one man, the child). Other searched people (the state police refer to people he was familiar with) are not counted.

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#spouse#former-partner#indiana#hancock-county#greenfield#indiana-state-police#criminal-charges

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Hancock County, Indiana: a sheriff's deputy is accused of running more than 6,190 Flock license-plate-reader searches on his wife, former girlfriends and others between December 2024 and March 2026; arrested and charged in September 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-hancock-county-indiana-deputy-flock-alpr-searches-wife-former-girlfriends-charged

BibTeX

@misc{2024_hancock_county_indiana_deputy_flock_alpr_searches_wife_former_girlfriends_charged,
  title = {Hancock County, Indiana: a sheriff's deputy is accused of running more than 6,190 Flock license-plate-reader searches on his wife, former girlfriends and others between December 2024 and March 2026; arrested and charged in September 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-hancock-county-indiana-deputy-flock-alpr-searches-wife-former-girlfriends-charged}
}

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