Skip to main content
NOPE
Medium reported severity Internal Action

New Bedford, Massachusetts: a police officer is under internal investigation after a Flock audit raised concerns about unauthorized use and a personal connection to a searched plate; the officer's ex-girlfriend, who says she was harassed after their break-up and that police told her that her plate had been searched a concerning number of times, had an abuse prevention order extended for six months on 13 August 2026; the officer says the searches were for a drug investigation, and the department paused its Flock cameras

The New Bedford Police Department in Massachusetts placed an officer on administrative leave in August 2026 after an audit of its Flock license-plate-reader system, begun on 31 July, flagged activity that raised concerns about unauthorized use and found a personal connection between the officer and a person associated with a license plate that had been searched. The officer's former girlfriend, who ended their relationship in early April 2026, says in an affidavit reported by Boston.com that she then received endless calls and messages and that the officer showed up at her home unannounced, once while on duty in a cruiser. WJAR reports that she alleged the department had told her that her plate had been searched in its Flock database a concerning number of times, and NBC Boston reports her testimony that police told her the officer was tracking her vehicle and that this made her feel she was being followed. On 13 August New Bedford District Court extended an abuse prevention order against the officer for six months. The officer testified that the searches were for a legitimate drug investigation involving another driver of the car. The department suspended its use of Flock on 11 August while it reviews the system; its internal investigation is open and no criminal charge has been reported.

AI system
Flock Safety license plate readers
Flock Safety
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
13 August 2026
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 reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
5 claims: 1 disputed, 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader system used by the New Bedford Police Department since 2024, in which the officer is accused of searching the ex-girlfriend's license plate

What Happened

WJAR (13 August 2026) and NBC Boston (13 August) report a hearing in New Bedford District Court at which a judge served a New Bedford police officer with a six-month abuse prevention order sought by the officer's ex-girlfriend. According to WJAR, the ex-girlfriend alleged that the New Bedford Police Department had notified her that her license plate had been searched in its Flock database a 'concerning number of times', and said the officer showed up at her home unannounced while on duty in a police cruiser. NBC Boston reports that she testified that police told her the officer was tracking her vehicle using Flock cameras and that it made her feel she was being followed. The officer testified that the plate was the subject of a legitimate drug investigation; the officer's attorney said the car, not the ex-girlfriend, was the target, because of another operator of the car. Boston.com (19 August) reports an affidavit filed in New Bedford District Court: the two had been in a relationship for about two and a half years before she ended it in early April; she says she then received endless calls and text messages, contact from fake phone numbers and unannounced visits, and that on 26 April the officer pulled into her home while on duty and would not let her leave; the affidavit says there is an open internal-affairs investigation of the officer running her license plate through Flock to follow her. Boston.com also reports Police Chief Jason Thody's statement that an audit begun on 31 July identified an officer whose activity raised concerns about unauthorized use, and a personal connection between the officer and a person associated with a searched plate; the officer was served an emergency restraining order on 10 August and placed on leave. The department suspended Flock use on 11 August and is auditing other searches.

Reported harm

A woman says a police officer she had dated harassed her after their break-up and that the department told her the officer had searched her plate in its Flock license-plate-reader system a concerning number of times, which made her feel followed (court hearing and affidavit as reported by WJAR, NBC Boston and Boston.com); a court extended an abuse prevention order, and the officer says the searches were for a drug investigation.

Outcome

Ongoing

Officer placed on administrative leave, required to surrender department equipment, credentials and firearms, and license to carry suspended after an emergency restraining order on 10 August 2026; New Bedford District Court extended an abuse prevention order for six months on 13 August 2026; the department's internal investigation and a wider Flock audit are open; the department suspended its Flock cameras on 11 August pending review. No criminal charge has been reported.

What remains unknown

  • When and how many times the plate was searched, and what the searches returned.
  • Whether the searches were connected to an investigation, as the officer says, or were personal.
  • The outcome of the internal investigation, the wider audit and any criminal referral.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The ex-girlfriend says the New Bedford Police Department told her that her plate had been searched in its Flock database a concerning number of times (WJAR) and that the officer was tracking her vehicle using Flock cameras (NBC Boston); the police chief says a Flock audit identified a personal connection between the officer and a person associated with a searched plate (Boston.com). The officer acknowledged running the plate but says the searches were for a drug investigation. The automated readers generated the vehicle-location records about her car; the searches are recorded as the officer's acts.

5 claims: 1 disputed, 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The ex-girlfriend says the New Bedford Police Department told her that her license plate had been searched in its Flock database a concerning number of times, and testified that police told her the officer was tracking her vehicle using Flock cameras and that it made her feel she was being followed.

Causal attribution. The ex-girlfriend's testimony and affidavit as reported; the officer disputes the purpose of the searches.

Reported In her affidavit the ex-girlfriend says that after she ended their relationship in early April 2026 she received endless calls and text messages, and that the officer showed up at her home unannounced, including once on duty in a cruiser when the officer would not let her leave.

Causal attribution. Allegations in the affidavit and at the hearing; not adjudicated beyond the order.

  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'had been in a relationship for about two and a half years before she ended it in early April.'; 'received endless calls and text messages'; 'showed up to her home unannounced, refusing to leave when asked.'
  • turnto10.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'showed up to her home unannounced while on duty in her police cruiser.'
Reported The police chief says a Flock audit begun on 31 July 2026 identified an officer whose activity raised concerns about potential unauthorized use, and a personal connection between the officer and a person associated with a searched plate; the officer was served an emergency restraining order on 10 August and placed on administrative leave, and the department suspended its Flock cameras on 11 August.

Causal attribution. Police chief's statement as reported by Boston.com.

  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'raised concerns about potential unauthorized use of the system,'; 'personal connection between the officer and an individual associated with a license plate that had been searched.'; 'The department suspended its use of the automated license plate readers on Aug. 11'
Reported At a hearing in New Bedford District Court on 13 August 2026 the officer was served with a six-month abuse prevention order, which Boston.com describes as the extension of a protective order after an emergency restraining order served on 10 August; the officer testified that the plate was the subject of a legitimate drug investigation, and the officer's attorney said the car was the target because of another operator.

Causal attribution. Court hearing as reported; the internal investigation has not concluded.

  • turnto10.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was served with a six-month abuse prevention order in court Thursday in relation to her ex-girlfriend'; 'testified in court, however, that the ex’s license plate was the subject of a legitimate drug investigation in the city, leading to the database searches.'
  • nbcboston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was not a target of that investigation, your honor. Her car was a target'; 'based on another operator of that car,'
  • boston.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A protective order against'; 'was extended for six months during a hearing last Thursday.'
Disputed The purpose of the officer's Flock searches of the ex-girlfriend's plate is disputed: she says police told her the officer was tracking her vehicle, while the officer acknowledged at the hearing that she had used Flock to run the plate but said the searches were for professional reasons, namely a legitimate drug investigation involving another operator of the car.

Causal attribution. Competing accounts at the 13 August hearing; the internal investigation has not concluded.

Sources

3 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 live on 2026-10-03 (Boston.com, 19 August 2026). Reports the affidavit filed in New Bedford District Court, which Boston.com obtained, and the police chief's statement. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-10-03 (WJAR NBC 10, 13 August 2026). Reports the 13 August court hearing. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-10-03 (NBC Boston, 13 August 2026). Reports the same hearing; treated as the same chain as WJAR. Applies to s3.

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

The New Bedford Police Department and its Flock system are in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and the abuse prevention order was issued in New Bedford District Court (WJAR, NBC Boston, Boston.com). Her affidavit says the officer came to her home while on duty in a police cruiser (Boston.com, WJAR), which places her residence in the US.

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: a woman says a police officer she had dated searched her plate in the department's Flock system and harassed her after their break-up; the department's audit flagged the officer and a court extended an abuse prevention order. The searches' purpose is disputed and the investigation is open. The officer and the woman are not named.

People described

The officer's former girlfriend (not named)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the officer's former girlfriend, whose plate searches and harassment are described in her affidavit and testimony (Boston.com, WJAR, NBC Boston). 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#stalking#massachusetts#new-bedford#protective-order

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). New Bedford, Massachusetts: a police officer is under internal investigation after a Flock audit raised concerns about unauthorized use and a personal connection to a searched plate; the officer's ex-girlfriend, who says she was harassed after their break-up and that police told her that her plate had been searched a concerning number of times, had an abuse prevention order extended for six months on 13 August 2026; the officer says the searches were for a drug investigation, and the department paused its Flock cameras. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-new-bedford-massachusetts-police-officer-flock-alpr-ex-girlfriend-plate-searches-protective-order

BibTeX

@misc{2026_new_bedford_massachusetts_police_officer_flock_alpr_ex_girlfriend_plate_searches_protective_order,
  title = {New Bedford, Massachusetts: a police officer is under internal investigation after a Flock audit raised concerns about unauthorized use and a personal connection to a searched plate; the officer's ex-girlfriend, who says she was harassed after their break-up and that police told her that her plate had been searched a concerning number of times, had an abuse prevention order extended for six months on 13 August 2026; the officer says the searches were for a drug investigation, and the department paused its Flock cameras},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-new-bedford-massachusetts-police-officer-flock-alpr-ex-girlfriend-plate-searches-protective-order}
}

Related cases

Medium Flock Safety license plate readers

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.

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.

Medium Flock Safety license plate readers

Fort Bend County, Texas: internal-affairs documents show a sheriff's office lieutenant looked up one license plate 41 times and another 148 times in Flock license-plate cameras from January 2022 to December 2025 for no official purpose; the investigation followed a resident's complaint of being stalked, and the lieutenant was suspended for two days (ABC13)

According to Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office internal-affairs documents obtained by ABC13 Houston (17 July 2026), a sheriff's office lieutenant used the office's Flock license-plate cameras to look up one license plate 41 times and another 148 times between January 2022 and December 2025, and admitted that the searches were not related to official law-enforcement work. The investigation began when a resident filed a complaint alleging that the lieutenant was stalking them and that they were in fear for their family's safety. The lieutenant said they were concerned that the two drivers were lurking near the lieutenant's home and family, and the documents describe at least one of the drivers' relationship as a very contentious familial relationship with the known vehicle owner. Internal affairs found that the lieutenant violated the office's general orders and suspended the lieutenant for two days. The lieutenant told investigators that the information was not used or shared. No criminal charges have been reported, and neither the lieutenant nor the resident is named.

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.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents