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Low reported severity Internal Action

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.

AI system
Flock Safety license plate readers
Flock Safety
Occurred
2024
Reported
18 August 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 supported · 4 sources, 1 underlying account
4 claims: 4 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader system used by the Stow Police Department, through which the officer ran vehicle information (the officer also queried the state CJIS records systems, which are not AI)

What Happened

Boston.com (18 August 2026) reports a Stow Police Department press release: on 18 June a Worcester County resident alleged that the officer improperly used police databases to access personal information; the department said the complainant and the officer were known to each other and placed the officer on leave within three hours. A four-week internal-affairs investigation determined that the officer attempted to obtain personal information about the resident multiple times during 2024 and 2025 and allegedly ran vehicle information through Flock Safety multiple times for no legitimate law-enforcement reason, and looked someone up in the state's criminal-records database at least five times for reasons unrelated to law enforcement. The Sentinel and Enterprise (20 August) carries the same announcement, describes the complainant as the victim, says the allegations concern 'what has been reported to be a former girlfriend', and lists the sustained findings: conduct unbecoming of an officer, improper use of an official position, failure to comply with written orders, use of false and unsubstantiated search reasons, and violations of database policies. WHDH (18 August) carries the same findings. The department filed a criminal complaint on 17 July seeking charges and forwarded the matter to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office; the Sentinel and Enterprise says the criminal investigation concerned the unauthorized CJIS queries. Chief Michael Sallese terminated the department's relationship with Flock Safety as a direct result of the conduct, and the last Flock reader in Stow was removed in early August. NBC Boston (27 August) reports that the officer resigned amid termination proceedings and that the internal-affairs report went to the state POST Commission.

Reported harm

According to the Stow Police Department, an officer attempted several times in 2024 and 2025 to obtain personal information about a Worcester County resident known to the officer, and ran vehicle information through the Flock license-plate-reader system and state criminal-justice systems on multiple dates with no law-enforcement reason; the resident complained to the department.

Outcome

Pending

Placed on paid administrative leave on 18 June 2026 and unpaid leave on 31 July; the internal-affairs investigation sustained findings including conduct unbecoming, improper use of an official position and false and unsubstantiated search reasons. After a criminal investigation into the unauthorized CJIS queries, the department filed a criminal complaint on 17 July 2026 seeking charges, forwarded to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, and sent the internal-affairs report to the Massachusetts POST Commission. The officer resigned amid termination proceedings (NBC Boston, 27 August 2026). The chief ended the department's relationship with Flock Safety and removed its last camera in early August. No charging decision has been reported.

What remains unknown

  • Whose vehicle information was run through Flock, what the searches returned, and whether the resident was followed or contacted as a result.
  • The nature of the relationship between the officer and the resident beyond the reported description of a former girlfriend.
  • Whether the Middlesex District Attorney has brought charges, and the POST Commission's decision.
  • WHDH's 18 August report opens by saying the officer 'has been arrested'; no other inspected source reports an arrest, and no charging decision has been reported.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Stow Police Department, as reported by Boston.com, the Sentinel and Enterprise, WHDH and NBC Boston, says the officer ran vehicle information through Flock Safety's automated license-plate-reader system on multiple dates with no legitimate law-enforcement reason. The automated readers generated the vehicle records that were searched; the searches and their purpose are recorded as the officer's own acts. The CJIS and criminal-offender-record systems the officer also queried are records databases and are not treated as AI. The sources do not say what the Flock searches returned or whose vehicle they concerned.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to the Stow Police Department, an internal-affairs investigation found that the officer attempted to obtain personal information about a Worcester County resident known to the officer multiple times in 2024 and 2025, and ran vehicle information through Flock Safety and CJIS systems on multiple dates with no legitimate law-enforcement reason.

Causal attribution. Department findings as relayed by the outlets (one chain); no court has ruled.

  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'attempted to obtain personal information about the Worcester County resident multiple times during 2024 and 2025, police said.'; 'ran vehicle information through Flock Safety multiple times for no legitimate law enforcement reason, police said.'
  • sentinelandenterprise.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'ran vehicle information through both Flock Safety and CJIS systems on multiple dates for no legitimate law enforcement reason.'
  • whdh.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'ran vehicle information through both Flock Safety and CJIS systems several times for no legitimate law enforcement reason.'
Reported The investigation began on 18 June 2026 when the resident, who was known to the officer, complained to the department; the officer was placed on leave within three hours. The Sentinel and Enterprise reports that the resident has been reported to be a former girlfriend.

Causal attribution. Department announcement; the Sentinel and Enterprise gives the former-girlfriend description as 'what has been reported' without naming who reported it.

  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'On June 18, a Worcester County resident alleged that'; 'improperly used police databases to access personal information'; 'Within three hours of receiving the complaint, the department placed'
  • sentinelandenterprise.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'misuse of Flock cameras to obtain information about what has been reported to be a former girlfriend.'; 'when the victim filed a complaint with the Police Department.'
Reported The internal-affairs investigation sustained findings of conduct unbecoming of an officer, improper use of an official position, failure to comply with written orders, use of false and unsubstantiated search reasons and violations of database policies; it also found that the officer accessed criminal offender record information at least five times.

Causal attribution. Department findings as reported.

  • sentinelandenterprise.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'sustained findings of conduct unbecoming of an officer, improper use of an official position, failure to comply with written orders, use of false and unsubstantiated search reasons, and violations of department policies surrounding law enforcement databases.'; 'unlawfully accessed Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) through the Criminal Justice Information Services system on at least five occasions'
Reported The department filed a criminal complaint seeking charges and forwarded the matter to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, sent the internal-affairs report to the state POST Commission, and ended its relationship with Flock Safety; the officer resigned amid termination proceedings.

Causal attribution. Department and town statements as reported; no charging decision has been reported.

  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The department filed a criminal complaint July 17 seeking charges against'; 'the matter has been forwarded to the Middlesex County District Attorney'
  • nbcboston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'resigned amid termination proceedings after he was accused of misusing Flock Safety license reader cameras and other police databases to track someone he knows.'; 'terminated their relationship with Flock Safety as a direct result of'
  • sentinelandenterprise.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'forwarded the complete internal affairs report to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission'

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. 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 (Boston.com, 18 August 2026). Reports the Stow Police Department press release. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-10-03 (Sentinel and Enterprise, 20 August 2026). Carries the department and town announcement; attributes the former-girlfriend description to earlier reporting. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-10-03 (NBC Boston, 27 August 2026). Reports the resignation and the department's statements. Applies to s3.

Read live on 2026-10-03 (WHDH 7News, 18 August 2026). Relays the department's findings. Applies to s4.

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

The Stow Police Department is in Stow, Massachusetts, and the complainant is described as a Worcester County resident (Boston.com); the criminal complaint was referred to the Middlesex District Attorney, and no court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-03: Published as a contextual case (made_claim_about) consistent with earlier officer-misuse rows for Flock license-plate readers: the Stow Police Department announced that an internal-affairs investigation found an officer ran Flock and CJIS vehicle searches without a law-enforcement reason to obtain information about a resident known to the officer, who complained. The account rests on the department's announcement as relayed by four outlets. The officer and the resident are not named.

People described

A Worcester County, Massachusetts resident known to the officer, reported by the Sentinel and Enterprise to be a former girlfriend (not named)

People reported harmed in this case

At least 1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One Worcester County resident, known to the officer, whose personal information the officer sought (Stow Police Department via Boston.com and the Sentinel and Enterprise). Whose vehicle information was run through Flock and whether other people were searched is not stated. Documented minimum 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#police-misuse#massachusetts#stow#internal-affairs

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). 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. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-stow-massachusetts-police-officer-flock-alpr-cjis-searches-person-known-to-officer

BibTeX

@misc{2024_stow_massachusetts_police_officer_flock_alpr_cjis_searches_person_known_to_officer,
  title = {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},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-stow-massachusetts-police-officer-flock-alpr-cjis-searches-person-known-to-officer}
}

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