Police officers in at least 12 states face criminal charges and terminations for misusing Flock Safety's license plate reader systems. In North Carolina, Officer Seth Daniel Elliott was arrested for allegedly leaking undercover plate data to a drug target. In Georgia, arrests have climbed to at least 20, including Deputy Christian Brewer. While Flock Safety claims its new Audit Assistance tool successfully flags unauthorized queries, civil liberties advocates argue that warrantless searches remain a systemic threat to constitutional rights.
Flock license plate reader misuse
- ▪Seth Daniel Elliott allegedly used the Flock Safety system and the North Carolina CJLEADS database to query an undercover officer's license plate and passed that information to a drug investigation target
- ▪Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Seth Daniel Elliott was arrested on July 29, 2026, and charged with illegally accessing a government computer
- ▪Police officers in at least 12 states have faced criminal charges, internal investigations, or disciplinary actions for allegedly misusing Flock Safety license plate reader systems
Georgia officer arrests
- ▪Habersham County Deputy Christian Brewer was fired and arrested on July 31, 2026, for allegedly misusing Flock license plate data to track an individual with whom Christian Brewer had a personal relationship
- ▪At least 20 public officers in Georgia have been arrested for the alleged misuse of the Flock Safety surveillance database
- ▪Andrae Wright, an investigator with the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney's Office, was arrested on July 27, 2026, for allegedly accessing the license plate reader system over 60 times
Multi-state officer investigations
- ▪Former Costa Mesa Police Officer Robert Jay Josett in California pleaded guilty to using Flock technology and other databases to track a woman with whom Robert Jay Josett had a relationship
- ▪Former Kechi Police Lieutenant Victor Heiar in Kansas was convicted after using Flock technology to track Victor Heiar's estranged wife
Legislative restrictions on surveillance
- ▪Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced federal legislation to deny certain federal funding to law enforcement agencies that use Flock Safety license plate readers
- ▪Republican lawmakers in several states have proposed legislation to limit data retention, restrict sharing agreements, or increase transparency around license plate reader use
Audit tool accountability measures
- ▪Institute for Justice attorney Michael Soyfer criticized Flock Safety's auditing tools as a 'black box' and argued that relying on them amounts to leaving the police to police themselves
- ▪Flock Safety introduced its Audit Assistance tool in April 2026 to help law enforcement agencies identify database misuse cases
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