{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-04T07:03:42.918Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"former-partner","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":3,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2023-covington-georgia-police-detective-flock-alpr-tracked-co-worker-fired","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he had tracked a female co-worker 41 times since January, an internal affairs report shows'; 'a woman he used to date, who also works for Covington police'; 'also searched the tags of that woman’s new boyfriend'; 'and a second ex-dating partner'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A Covington Police Department internal review found that the detective used Flock to search the license plate of a woman he used to date, who also works for Covington police, 41 times since January 2026, and also searched the plates of her new boyfriend, another Covington detective, and of a second former dating partner; Flock's Audit Assistance feature flagged his activity in July 2026.","causal_attribution":"USA TODAY's account of the internal review; the review itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'license plate 2,890 times from June 2023 to October 2025'; 'nearly every day for 14 months straight'; 'as many as 41 times in one day, usually between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"USA TODAY's analysis of publicly released Flock audit logs found that the detective searched the woman's plate 2,890 times from June 2023 to October 2025, nearly every day for 14 months and as many as 41 times in one day, usually between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.","causal_attribution":"USA TODAY's own analysis of the audit logs; not independently replicated."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'planted a tracking device on her vehicle'; 'He repeatedly showed up unannounced, she said, and seemed to know every place she had been'; 'she said she was in shock'; 'I’m really scared'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The woman told USA TODAY she had suspected a tracking device on her vehicle because he repeatedly showed up unannounced and seemed to know every place she had been, and that when told the number of searches in early August she was in shock and scared.","causal_attribution":"The woman's own account to USA TODAY; she was not named."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'referring him to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an independent criminal investigation'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'has been fired and arrested after an internal audit uncovered'; 'the Covington Police Department notified the Georgia Bureau of Investigation of its findings'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'requested the GBI to investigate allegations of misuse of the Covington Police Department Flock Safety System'; 'accessed the Flock Safety System for non-law enforcement purposes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Covington Police Department fired the detective and asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on 6 August 2026 to investigate misuse of its Flock Safety system; the GBI says preliminary information indicates he accessed the system for non-law enforcement purposes.","causal_attribution":"The firing is reported by USA TODAY; the referral date and preliminary finding are the GBI's statement. Not a court finding."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'with Misuse of a License Plate Reader System and one count of Violation of Oath of Office'; 'was arrested on August 26, 2026, and was booked into the Newton County Jail'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The GBI says it arrested the former officer on 26 August 2026 and charged him with misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office.","causal_attribution":"The arresting agency's own release documents the arrest and charges; the allegations are unproven."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'with five counts of violation of oath by a public officer and other offenses'; 'He has not entered a plea.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"USA TODAY reports that he was charged on 27 August 2026 with five counts of violation of oath by a public officer and other offenses and had not entered a plea.","causal_attribution":"USA TODAY's account; the count differs from the GBI release (one count of violation of oath), and no charging document was inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"her car plate searched thousands of times on the Flock license-plate-reader system by a detective she used to date","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"suspected she was being tracked and was scared when told the number of searches","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/08/28/flock-camera-investigation-police-arrested-fired-surveillance/91383586007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 from the eu.usatoday.com edition of the same article (28 August 2026). Rests on a Covington police internal review obtained by public records request, USA TODAY's own analysis of audit logs and an interview with the woman.","independence_group":"usatoday-flock-analysis"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-08-27/gbi-arrests-former-covington-police-department-officer-misuse-license","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live). The release names the officer and charges and does not describe the woman or the number of searches.","independence_group":"covington-pd-gbi-statements"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/newton-county/covington-cop-fired-after-investigation-into-flock-technology-system/TS432ZDBYJCGXBLVNUMI74AI2E/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 from an Internet Archive capture of 28 August 2026 (the live site answered 451 to this host). Relays the police department and GBI; does not describe the woman.","independence_group":"covington-pd-gbi-statements"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","work","relationships"],"unknowns":["The number of violation-of-oath counts: the GBI release says one, USA TODAY says five.","Whether the searches continued between October 2025 and January 2026, and when they stopped.","Whether the new boyfriend or the second former partner has described any effect of the searches.","The court handling the charges and any outcome."],"geography":{"basis":"The detective served with the Covington Police Department in Newton County, Georgia, and the woman is a Covington police employee (USA TODAY). The GBI arrested him in Covington and booked him into the Newton County Jail; the charges are Georgia charges.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional privacy and safety case, consistent with the held Flock officer-misuse rows: USA TODAY reports a police internal review and its own audit-log analysis showing a Covington detective searched a co-worker's plate thousands of times, with her account of the effect, and the GBI release documents his arrest and charges. The automated readers generated the plate-read records; the misuse is recorded as a human act. Neither the detective nor the woman is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"USA TODAY and the GBI say the detective searched the woman's plate on the Covington Police Department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system, and USA TODAY says Flock's Audit Assistance feature flagged his activity. The plate-read records about the woman's car were the system's output; the searches are recorded as the detective's own acts. The sources do not describe the readers as AI.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Covington, Georgia: a police detective is fired and charged after an internal review finds he searched a co-worker's plate 41 times on the Flock license-plate-reader system; USA TODAY's analysis of Flock logs counts 2,890 searches from June 2023","summary":"A Covington Police Department internal review, obtained by USA TODAY, found that a detective had searched the license plate of a woman he used to date, a Covington police employee, 41 times on the Flock license-plate-reader system since January 2026, after Flock's audit tool flagged his activity in July. He also searched the plates of her new boyfriend and of a second former partner. USA TODAY's analysis of audit logs found 2,890 searches of the woman's plate from June 2023 to October 2025, nearly every day for 14 months. The woman told USA TODAY she had suspected a tracking device on her car because he showed up unannounced and seemed to know where she had been, and that she was scared when told the full number in early August. The department fired the detective and referred him to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which arrested him on 26 August 2026 and charged him with misuse of a license plate reader system and violation of oath.","incidentDate":"2023-06-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-08-27","aiSystem":"Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader system used by the Covington Police Department, which the detective searched through his police access; its Audit Assistance feature flagged his activity (USA TODAY; GBI news release)","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to USA TODAY's analysis of Flock audit logs and a police internal review, a detective searched the car plate of a co-worker he used to date thousands of times over more than two years; she told USA TODAY she had suspected she was being tracked and was scared when told the extent. He is charged with misuse of a license plate reader system.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The internal review, as reported by USA TODAY, says the detective searched the plates of the woman he used to date, her new boyfriend and a second former dating partner: three people. Only the first woman's search count and reported effects are described. documented_minimum 3; other plates the logs may contain are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-GA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/08/28/flock-camera-investigation-police-arrested-fired-surveillance/91383586007/","primarySourceLabel":"USA TODAY, 28 August 2026: Our Flock camera investigation sparks police firings, arrests","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:30:17.504223+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:30:17.504223+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","police-misuse","former-partner","co-worker","georgia","covington","newton-county","made-claim-about"]},{"id":"2024-hancock-county-indiana-deputy-flock-alpr-searches-wife-former-girlfriends-charged","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'found nearly 6,200 Flock searches between December 2024 and March 2026'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'An extensive audit of the license plate reader database found unauthorized searches involving people'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'also allegedly performed a traffic stop on an ex-girlfriend’s child after finding them via a Flock search'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'tailgated her during a January traffic stop after her vehicle had been searched on Flock nine times'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'detectives ultimately submitted probable cause for intimidation, official misconduct, and fraud'; 'it was served this morning by Indiana State Police Detectives'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'That person, a family member, also mentioned'; 'was stalking and confronting individuals using police tech'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."}],"effects":[{"label":"vehicles of the deputy's wife, former girlfriends and other people he knew searched thousands of times in police license-plate-reader records without a law enforcement purpose","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a former girlfriend's child pulled over by the deputy after a license-plate-reader search","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://inkfreenews.com/2026/09/28/hancock-county-sheriffs-deputy-arrested-after-allegedly-used-flock-cameras-to-stalk-wife-ex-girlfriends","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"hancock-court-documents-reports"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.wbiw.com/2026/09/24/indiana-state-police-investigation-leads-to-charges-against-hancock-county-deputy-for-intimidation-and-license-plate-reader-misuse/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"isp-hancock-release"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/hancock-county-deputy-arrested-after-isp-investigation-into-threatening-texts-license-plate-reader-searches/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; published 24 September 2026). A rewrite of the state police release, so grouped with it.","independence_group":"isp-hancock-release"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.hoosierenquirer.com/post/hancock-deputy-faces-441-charges-after-isp-says-he-turned-flock-cameras-into-a-private-tracker","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"hancock-court-documents-reports"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","relationships"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"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.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"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","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2024-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-03-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-24","aiSystem":"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)","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":4,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"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.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US-IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://inkfreenews.com/2026/09/28/hancock-county-sheriffs-deputy-arrested-after-allegedly-used-flock-cameras-to-stalk-wife-ex-girlfriends","primarySourceLabel":"InkFreeNews, 28 September 2026: Hancock County Sheriff's Deputy Arrested After Allegedly Used Flock Cameras To Stalk Wife, Ex-Girlfriends (Indianapolis Star)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:30:03.007838+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:30:03.007838+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","stalking","police-misuse","spouse","former-partner","indiana","hancock-county","greenfield","indiana-state-police","criminal-charges","made-claim-about"]},{"id":"2025-sarasota-florida-police-officer-flock-alpr-335-searches-former-partner-car-fired-arrested","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'at least 335 times over two months was fired and arrested'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the officer searched the same plate 335 times over a two-month period'; 'the plate was searched 121 times'; 'The searches were sometimes made outside normal working hours and in the middle of the night'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'at least 335 times over two months'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'searched for the same license tag 355 times'; 'searched the tag 121 times'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"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)."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'an officer who tracked an ex-girlfriend’s car at least 335 times'; 'about his 335 Flock searches of his ex-partner'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'charged with tracking an ex-girlfriend’s car at least 335 times over two months'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'Police have not disclosed who'; 'or why he repeatedly searched the license plate'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The department did not provide additional details about how the databases were allegedly misused or identify any people whose information may have been accessed'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The Sarasota Police Department said it learned Aug. 6 that the officer allegedly misused agency search databases'; 'The case is also being investigated criminally'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'The criminal investigation was assigned Aug. 12, according to the affidavit'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'two weeks after a reporter asked the agency about his 335 Flock searches'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The reporters eventually identified the officer and contacted Sarasota Police'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'An investigation started earlier this month after a USA Today reporter discovered'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was arrested Aug. 19 and faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge'; 'was terminated on Aug. 19, the same day he was arrested'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'faces felony charges of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, and official misconduct'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'bond at $5,500'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."}],"effects":[{"label":"their car's license plate searched hundreds of times by a police officer on the Flock license-plate-reader system while he was not working on an investigation involving the car","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/08/28/flock-camera-investigation-police-arrested-fired-surveillance/91383586007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"usat-tcpalm-flock-investigation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.wjhg.com/2026/08/20/former-officer-jailed-after-allegedly-doing-more-than-350-flock-searches-same-license/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"sarasota-pd-court-2026-08"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://cbs12.com/news/florida/florida-sarasota-police-officer-fired-arrested-over-alleged-misuse-of-flock-camera-database-law-enforcement-database-","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; CBS12 WPEC, 20 August 2026). Relays the Sarasota Police Department's announcement.","independence_group":"sarasota-pd-court-2026-08"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.fox13news.com/news/bond-set-ex-sarasota-officer-accused-misusing-flock-cameras-hundreds-times","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"sarasota-pd-court-2026-08"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.mysuncoast.com/2026/08/24/former-sarasota-officer-charged-after-flock-license-plate-data-investigation/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"usat-tcpalm-flock-investigation"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://patch.com/florida/sarasota/sarasota-officer-leave-amid-investigation-database-misuse-police","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"sarasota-pd-court-2026-08"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/crime/2026/09/30/two-pinellas-county-sheriffs-deputies-arrested-for-flock-alpr-misuse-florida-license-plate-readers/92020401007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"usat-tcpalm-flock-investigation"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","relationships"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"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.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"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","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2025-05-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-10-31","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-08-14","aiSystem":"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)","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"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.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-FL","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/08/28/flock-camera-investigation-police-arrested-fired-surveillance/91383586007/","primarySourceLabel":"USA TODAY, 28 August 2026: Our Flock camera investigation sparks police firings, arrests","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:25:45.787158+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:25:45.787158+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","police-misuse","former-partner","florida","sarasota","usa-today-analysis","made-claim-about"]}]}