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NOPE
Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Sarasota, Florida: a police officer is fired and arrested after he allegedly searched one license plate hundreds of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system in 2025; USA TODAY says the car belonged to his former partner

A probable-cause affidavit, as reported by WJHG (Gray News), says a Sarasota Police Department officer searched the same Florida license plate 358 times through the Flock license-plate-reader system between May and October 2025, and that investigators wrote he was not actively working on a criminal investigation involving the vehicle during that period. A USA TODAY analysis of Flock search data counted at least 335 searches over two months, including 121 on one day, and USA TODAY reports that the car belonged to the officer's ex-girlfriend; police have not disclosed whom he was tracking. The department said it learned of the alleged misuse on 6 August 2026; USA TODAY says its reporter had asked the department about the searches two weeks before the 19 August arrest. The officer was placed on paid leave on 7 August and was fired and arrested on 19 August 2026 on two felony charges (a computer offence and official misconduct) and a misdemeanor public-records charge. A judge set bond at $5,500; as of 28 August he had not entered a plea.

AI system
Flock Safety license plate readers
Flock Safety
Occurred
May 2025 to Oct 2025
Reported
14 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 alleged · 7 sources, 2 underlying accounts
6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader system used by the Sarasota Police Department, which the officer searched through his police access (probable-cause affidavit as reported by WJHG; USA TODAY analysis of Flock search data)

What Happened

USA TODAY reporters analysing Flock license-plate-reader search data from agencies across the US looked for officers who repeatedly searched the same plate. According to the reporters' data, as described by reporter Jack Lemnus to ABC7 WWSB, a Sarasota officer searched the same plate 335 times over a two-month period, 121 times on one day, sometimes outside normal working hours and in the middle of the night. USA TODAY wrote on 28 August 2026 that the officer tracked an ex-girlfriend's car at least 335 times over two months, and that the department fired and arrested him on 19 August, two weeks after a reporter asked it about his 335 Flock searches of his ex-partner's car. FOX 13 reported the figure as 355. The probable-cause affidavit, as reported by WJHG (Gray News), says he searched the same Florida license plate 358 times through Flock between May and October 2025, that investigators also documented multiple searches of the tag in DAVID (the state Driver and Vehicle Information Database), and that he was not actively working on a criminal investigation involving the vehicle during that period. The Sarasota Police Department said it learned of the allegations on 6 August 2026. It opened an internal affairs investigation, placed the officer, who had joined the department in 2023, on paid administrative leave on 7 August, and began an agency-wide audit of database use that it said found agency-wide compliance when completed on 14 August. The criminal investigation was assigned on 12 August, according to the affidavit. On 19 August he was fired and arrested on two felony charges, offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices and official misconduct, and a misdemeanor charge of violating the public records law. A judge set bond at $5,500 at his first appearance. Police have not disclosed whom he was tracking or why, and the department did not identify any people whose information may have been accessed. USA TODAY reported that he did not respond to its calls or emails and had not entered a plea.

Reported harm

According to a probable-cause affidavit and a USA TODAY analysis of Flock search data, a police officer searched one car's license plate hundreds of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system while not working on an investigation involving the car; USA TODAY says the car belonged to his ex-girlfriend. He is charged with a computer offence and official misconduct.

Outcome

Pending

The Sarasota Police Department said it learned on 6 August 2026 of alleged misuse of law-enforcement-only search databases, including DAVID and Flock, opened an internal affairs investigation and then a criminal investigation, placed the officer on paid administrative leave on 7 August and ran an agency-wide audit that found agency-wide compliance on 14 August (Patch; CBS12; WJHG). He was fired and arrested on 19 August 2026 on felony charges of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices and official misconduct, and a misdemeanor charge of violating the public records law (CBS12; WJHG). At his first appearance a judge set bond at $5,500 (FOX 13). USA TODAY reported on 28 August that he had not entered a plea. No later court outcome is reported in the sources read.

What remains unknown

  • Who owns the car and whether that person has described any effect of the searches.
  • How USA TODAY linked the car to the officer’s former partner; the police have not identified the person.
  • The exact search count (335, 355 and 358 are reported) and the reason for the searches.
  • The court handling the charges and any outcome after the first appearance.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The probable-cause affidavit, as reported by WJHG, says the officer searched the same Florida license plate 358 times through Flock, a license plate reader system; USA TODAY's analysis of Flock search data counted at least 335 searches. ABC7 WWSB describes Flock cameras as capturing license plates and other vehicle information as cars pass. The plate-read records about the car were the system's output; the searches are recorded as the officer's own acts. The sources do not describe the readers as AI. DAVID, the other database named, is the state driver and vehicle database and is not treated as an AI system here.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to the probable-cause affidavit, the officer searched the same Florida license plate 358 times through Flock between May and October 2025, investigators also documented multiple DAVID searches connected to the tag, and he was not actively working on a criminal investigation involving the vehicle during that period.

Causal attribution. The affidavit as relayed by WJHG; the officer is charged, not convicted.

  • wjhg.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'searched the same Florida license plate 358 times through Flock between May and October 2025, according to the affidavit'; 'Investigators also documented multiple DAVID searches connected to the tag'; 'was not actively working on a criminal investigation involving the vehicle during the relevant period'
Reported USA TODAY's analysis of Flock search data counted at least 335 searches of the plate over two months, including 121 on one day, some made outside normal working hours and in the middle of the night; FOX 13 reported the count as 355.

Causal attribution. USA TODAY's own data analysis, repeated by ABC7 WWSB and TCPalm from the same reporting; the counts differ across sources (335, 355, 358).

Reported USA TODAY reports that the car the officer tracked belonged to his ex-girlfriend, or ex-partner; police have not disclosed whom he was tracking or why.

Causal attribution. The relationship rests on USA TODAY's reporting alone (TCPalm is the same network); the sources do not say how USA TODAY linked the car to the officer's former partner.

  • usatoday.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'an officer who tracked an ex-girlfriend’s car at least 335 times'; 'about his 335 Flock searches of his ex-partner'
  • tcpalm.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'charged with tracking an ex-girlfriend’s car at least 335 times over two months'
  • fox13news.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    'Police have not disclosed who'; 'or why he repeatedly searched the license plate'
  • cbs12.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    'The department did not provide additional details about how the databases were allegedly misused or identify any people whose information may have been accessed'
Reported The Sarasota Police Department said it learned on 6 August 2026 that the officer had allegedly misused law-enforcement-only search databases, including DAVID and Flock; it opened an internal affairs investigation and a criminal investigation, placed him on paid administrative leave on 7 August, and ran an agency-wide audit of database use that it said found agency-wide compliance when completed on 14 August.

Causal attribution. The department's statements and the affidavit, relayed by three outlets; one dependence group.

  • cbs12.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'misused law enforcement-only search databases, including DAVID and Flock'; 'was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 7'; 'the audit was completed Aug. 14 and found agency-wide compliance'
  • patch.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The Sarasota Police Department said it learned Aug. 6 that the officer allegedly misused agency search databases'; 'The case is also being investigated criminally'
  • wjhg.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The criminal investigation was assigned Aug. 12, according to the affidavit'
Reported USA TODAY reports that the department acted after a USA TODAY reporter asked it about the officer's Flock searches, two weeks before his arrest.

Causal attribution. USA TODAY's account of its own inquiry; the department's statements give 6 August as the date it learned of the allegations without naming the source.

Reported The officer was fired and arrested on 19 August 2026 on felony charges of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices and official misconduct and a misdemeanor charge of violating the public records law; a judge set bond at $5,500, and as of 28 August he had not entered a plea.

Causal attribution. The department's announcement and the first appearance; USA TODAY's account of the arrest likely rests on the department, so this is not treated as independent corroboration. No court record was inspected.

  • cbs12.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was arrested Aug. 19 and faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge'; 'was terminated on Aug. 19, the same day he was arrested'
  • wjhg.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'faces felony charges of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, and official misconduct'
  • fox13news.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'bond at $5,500'
  • usatoday.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'arrested him on two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of misusing computer systems and official misconduct on Aug. 19'; 'has not entered a plea'

Sources

7 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 from the eu.usatoday.com edition of the same article (28 August 2026). Based on USA TODAY's own analysis of Flock search data and its inquiries to the department. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; WWSB via Gray News, 20 August 2026). Relays the Sarasota Police Department's statement and the probable-cause affidavit. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; CBS12 WPEC, 20 August 2026). Relays the Sarasota Police Department's announcement. Applies to s3.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; FOX 13 Tampa Bay, 20 August 2026). Its reporter attended the first appearance; its search count is attributed to a USA Today reporter. Applies to s4.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; ABC7 WWSB, 24 August 2026). Its search figures come from USA TODAY reporter Jack Lemnus, so it shares USA TODAY's group. Applies to s5.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; Patch, 14 August 2026). Relays the department's news release; the officer is not named and Flock is not mentioned. Applies to s6.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; TCPalm, 30 September 2026). A USA TODAY Network recap of the same analysis; one sentence on this case. Applies to s7.

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

The officer served with the Sarasota Police Department in Florida, which investigated, fired and arrested him; he was held at the Sarasota County Jail (CBS12; WJHG). The tracked car carried a Florida license plate according to the affidavit (WJHG); the owner's residence is not otherwise stated. The charges were brought in Florida.

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: a probable-cause affidavit relayed by WJHG and a USA TODAY analysis of Flock search data say a Sarasota police officer searched one car's plate hundreds of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system, and he has been fired and charged. The ex-girlfriend identification is USA TODAY's and is attributed. The automated readers generated the plate-read records; the misuse is recorded as a human act. Neither the officer nor the car's owner is named here.

People described

The person whose car the officer searched, described by USA TODAY as his ex-girlfriend (not named here); police have not identified whom he tracked

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the owner of the single car whose plate the officer searched, whom USA TODAY identifies as his ex-girlfriend (police have not identified the person). 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#police-misuse#former-partner#florida#sarasota#usa-today-analysis

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Sarasota, Florida: a police officer is fired and arrested after he allegedly searched one license plate hundreds of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system in 2025; USA TODAY says the car belonged to his former partner. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-sarasota-florida-police-officer-flock-alpr-335-searches-former-partner-car-fired-arrested

BibTeX

@misc{2025_sarasota_florida_police_officer_flock_alpr_335_searches_former_partner_car_fired_arrested,
  title = {Sarasota, Florida: a police officer is fired and arrested after he allegedly searched one license plate hundreds of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system in 2025; USA TODAY says the car belonged to his former partner},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-sarasota-florida-police-officer-flock-alpr-335-searches-former-partner-car-fired-arrested}
}

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