Another cop used Flock camera to stalk ex-girlfriend

Our Take

Credit to BreakThrough News for flagging this one, because it's the same story we keep seeing in different uniforms. A New Bedford, Massachusetts officer is on administrative leave after his ex-girlfriend says he used the department's Flock Safety camera network to track her movements. Flock sells these systems as tools to catch violent criminals, but the audit trail only matters if someone is actually watching it — and departments rarely publicize how often they check.

This isn't an isolated glitch, it's a structural feature. Any cop with a login can run a plate, and 'law enforcement purpose' is whatever the person typing the query says it is until someone complains loud enough to trigger an investigation. Abuse like this almost never surfaces through internal audits; it surfaces because a victim speaks up, a reporter asks questions, or a defense attorney digs through records. The departments selling these systems to city councils rarely mention that the badge is the only safeguard between a plate scan and a stalking tool.

Every one of these stories should make residents ask what cameras are watching their own streets and who has the keys. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and if your city is debating a Flock contract, use our take-action resources to push for real audit transparency before the cameras go up, not after someone gets hurt.