{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-04T07:06:56.358Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"fort-pierce","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":1,"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":"2025-fort-pierce-florida-police-officer-flock-alpr-382-searches-ex-girlfriend-plate-arrest","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'accessed the Flock database 382 times to search the same license plate'; 'Most of the searches were made while he was off duty. Investigators determined the vehicle was registered to an ex-girlfriend.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'used the Flock database 382 times to search the same vehicle license plate'; 'although the Flock searches began in October 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'searched his ex 382 times between February 2025 and this June'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to the Fort Pierce police chief, the former officer used the department's Flock database 382 times between October 2025 and July 2026 to search the same license plate, mostly while off duty and without a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and investigators determined the vehicle was registered to his ex-girlfriend.","causal_attribution":"The police chief's account, relayed by two stations from the same news conference. TCPalm's own count matches (382) but gives a different period (February 2025 to June 2026); the record uses the police period and notes the difference."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'access involving the woman stretched back to 2023'; 'has been notified and is part of the case'; 'I think you can infer that he was tracking an ex-girlfriend.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The chief said records from other law enforcement databases showed the officer's access involving the woman stretched back to 2023, that the woman had been notified and is part of the case, and that one could infer the officer was tracking an ex-girlfriend.","causal_attribution":"The chief's statements at the news conference as reported by WPTV."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she filed for a restraining order on Aug. 14, accusing'; 'of stalking and cyberstalking'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"TCPalm reports that it asked the woman about the searches on 3 August 2026 and that on 14 August she filed for a restraining order, accusing the officer of stalking and cyberstalking.","causal_attribution":"TCPalm's account; the filing was not inspected."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'members of the media contacted the department on Aug. 7'; 'was arrested on four felony counts related to unauthorized computer access'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He was being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on $80,000 secured bond.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'inquired about his searches on Aug. 7'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The investigation began after the media contacted the department on 7 August 2026 about possible misuse of its Flock system; the officer was placed on administrative leave that day, resigned on 18 August, and was arrested on 8 September 2026 on four felony counts related to unauthorized computer access, held on an $80,000 secured bond.","causal_attribution":"The department's announcement; TCPalm confirms its own 7 August inquiry. No court record was inspected."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Only lieutenants and higher ranking officers can now use it'; 'The department also cut its data retention period from 30 days to seven days.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After the arrest the department limited Flock access to lieutenants and above, required deputy-chief approval and a case number for each search, limited searches to forcible felony and missing or endangered person cases, and cut data retention from 30 days to seven days.","causal_attribution":"The department's statements as reported by CBS12."}],"effects":[{"label":"her license plate searched 382 times on the police Flock license-plate-reader database by her ex-boyfriend, a police officer","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"sought a restraining order accusing him of stalking and cyberstalking","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://cbs12.com/news/local/former-fort-pierce-officer-arrested-over-alleged-misuse-of-police-databases-fort-pierce-police-department-fort-pierce-former-police-officer-former-officer-arrested-police-arrest-database-misuse-police-database-database-systems-law-enforcement","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; CBS12/WPEC, 8 September 2026, updated 9 September). Rests on the Fort Pierce Police Department's announcement and the chief's news conference.","independence_group":"fppd-news-conference-2026-09-08"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/our-community/fort-pierce/former-fort-pierce-police-officer-arrested-for-alleged-misuse-of-police-database-systems","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 (live; WPTV, 8 September 2026). Reports the chief's news conference, including his answers to reporters.","independence_group":"fppd-news-conference-2026-09-08"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2026/09/10/florida-flock-camera-abuse-prompts-fort-pierce-police-officer-arrest-usat-investigation/91673033007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-04 from the eu.tcpalm.com edition of the same article (10 September 2026). Its own analysis of Flock audit logs, its inquiry to the department and to the woman, and the restraining-order filing; also relays the chief's news conference.","independence_group":"usat-tcpalm-flock-investigation"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","relationships"],"unknowns":["The period of the Flock searches (police: October 2025 to July 2026; TCPalm: February 2025 to June 2026).","Whether the restraining order was granted.","The woman's own account of the effect of the searches.","Any court outcome."],"geography":{"basis":"The officer served with the Fort Pierce Police Department in St. Lucie County, Florida, whose Flock database he searched; he was arrested and held at the St. Lucie County Jail (CBS12; WPTV). The woman's residence is not stated; affected_person_countries US rests on her vehicle being searched in the Florida department's system and on her restraining-order petition (TCPalm). The case is 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: the Fort Pierce police chief says a former officer searched his ex-girlfriend's license plate 382 times on the department's Flock license-plate-reader database without a law enforcement purpose, he has been arrested, and TCPalm reports she sought a restraining order. The automated readers generated the plate-read records; the misuse is recorded as a human act. Neither the officer nor the woman is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Fort Pierce police chief, as reported by CBS12 and WPTV, says the officer used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader database 382 times to search a vehicle registered to his ex-girlfriend, and TCPalm's analysis of Flock audit logs found the same count. CBS12 describes Flock cameras as license plate readers that help identify vehicles. The plate-read records about the woman's vehicle were the system's output; the searches are recorded as the officer's own acts. The FCIC/NCIC, DAVID and TLO searches are not treated as AI. The sources do not describe the readers as AI.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Fort Pierce, Florida: a former police officer is arrested after investigators say he searched his ex-girlfriend's license plate 382 times on the department's Flock license-plate-reader system without a law enforcement purpose","summary":"According to Fort Pierce Police Chief David Smith, a former officer of the Fort Pierce Police Department used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader database 382 times between October 2025 and July 2026 to search the same license plate, mostly while off duty and without a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and investigators determined the vehicle was registered to his ex-girlfriend. The chief said records from other law enforcement databases showed the officer's access involving the woman stretched back to 2023. The department opened its investigation after a TCPalm reporter asked on 7 August 2026 about the searches; the officer was placed on leave that day and resigned on 18 August. TCPalm reports that the woman filed for a restraining order on 14 August, accusing him of stalking and cyberstalking. He was arrested on 8 September 2026 on four felony counts related to unauthorized computer access and held on an $80,000 bond. The charges are allegations.","incidentDate":"2025-10-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-07-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-08","aiSystem":"Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader database of the Fort Pierce Police Department, which the officer searched through his police access (Fort Pierce police chief, as reported by CBS12, WPTV and TCPalm)","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Fort Pierce police chief, the woman's license plate was searched 382 times on the department's Flock license-plate-reader database by her ex-boyfriend, a police officer, mostly off duty and without a law enforcement purpose; TCPalm reports she sought a restraining order accusing him of stalking and cyberstalking. He is charged with unauthorized computer access.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the officer's ex-girlfriend, whose vehicle's plate was searched (Fort Pierce police chief via CBS12 and WPTV; TCPalm). The other people looked up in non-AI databases are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-FL","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://cbs12.com/news/local/former-fort-pierce-officer-arrested-over-alleged-misuse-of-police-databases-fort-pierce-police-department-fort-pierce-former-police-officer-former-officer-arrested-police-arrest-database-misuse-police-database-database-systems-law-enforcement","primarySourceLabel":"CBS12 (WPEC), 8 September 2026: Ex-Fort Pierce officer accused of using Flock database 382 times to track ex-girlfriend","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:25:49.473488+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:25:49.473488+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","police-misuse","ex-partner","stalking","florida","fort-pierce","st-lucie-county","usa-today-investigation","restraining-order","made-claim-about"]}]}