SWAT Sergeant Arrested Tracking Citizens with Flock Cameras
The short version: A DeKalb County SWAT sergeant's arrest for misusing Flock cameras shows the 'trust us' promise of ALPR networks is already breaking down in Georgia.
Our Take
Credit to the channel OhDangReally for digging into this: a 17-year DeKalb County Sheriff's Office veteran, a man who made SWAT and earned the department's trust, allegedly turned Flock's license plate readers into his personal stalking tool. And according to the video, he's not an outlier — deputies in Greene County, Cherokee County, and officers in Fayetteville have all faced similar allegations. That's not a bad apple. That's a pattern.
This is the exact failure mode critics of ALPR networks have been warning about since these cameras started multiplying on street corners nationwide. The pitch is always the same: trust us, it's just for solving crimes. But the hardware doesn't know the difference between a warrant and a grudge. It logs your car's color, make, modifications, how often you drive a certain route — even distinctive tire sounds, by some accounts. Pointed at the wrong person by someone with a badge and a login, that data becomes a free tool for tracking an ex, a neighbor, a rival, or anyone else who ticks someone off. Sheriff Melody Maddox deserves credit for firing and arresting Salawu, but the bigger question is how many departments aren't catching this, and how many never will, since audit logs and access controls vary wildly from agency to agency.
Georgia isn't unique — it's just where the audits happened to surface. If you want to see how dense this camera network already is near you, check our map, and if you're ready to push back on unchecked surveillance in your own city or county, our take-action page has concrete steps.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of OhDangReally, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.