5 Cops From 1 Department Charged After Abusing Flock Surveillance Cameras

Our Take

Big Truth Channel's report on five Indianapolis police officers charged for misusing Flock Safety's license plate readers is exactly the kind of story we've been warning about since this site launched. Every time Flock sells a city council on these cameras, the pitch is the same: find stolen cars, catch violent criminals, protect the children. What never makes the sales deck is the fact that once a database of everyone's movements exists, someone with a badge and a login will eventually use it to track an ex, a neighbor, or a rival rather than a felon.

That's not a hypothetical anymore — it's a charging document. And Indianapolis isn't an outlier; it's a preview. Flock's own audit logs have exposed similar abuse patterns in other departments, but audit logs only catch what gets flagged, reviewed, and actually prosecuted. The vast majority of queries never get that scrutiny. Credit to Big Truth Channel for putting a spotlight on this case, because these stories tend to vanish from local news cycles fast while the cameras themselves just keep running.

If there's a lesson here, it's that 'trust us, there are safeguards' is not a policy — it's a slogan. Check our camera map to see how many of these systems are already watching your own streets, and if you want to push back, our take-action page has tools for making your city answer for it.