Christian Eder Ex Amarillo Cop Charged With 78 Counts Over Flock Cameras

Our Take

Seventy-six searches. Seventy-six typed justifications like "city planning" and "disorderly conduct" for running one man's plate. That's not a glitch in the Flock Safety system — that's the system working exactly as designed, just pointed at a private grudge instead of public safety. The only reason we know is because an internal audit caught it, and the only reason the public knows is because a news station started asking inconvenient questions 33 days after the quiet firing.

This is the core problem with ALPR networks that police departments keep glossing over: the technology runs on an honor system. Type any reason into a box, get instant access to a stranger's movements. Christian Eder didn't need to hack anything. He just had a badge and a login. Audits are supposed to be the safeguard, but audits only work after the fact, after the stalking, after the damage. And departments aren't exactly rushing to tell the public when their own people misuse the tools — Amarillo sat on this for over a month.

Every one of these cases should be a wake-up call for any city council still rubber-stamping Flock contracts without real oversight, audit transparency requirements, and public reporting timelines. Check our camera map to see what's watching your community, and if your city is debating a Flock contract, hit up our take-action page before they vote. Credit to OhDangReally for digging into a story Amarillo PD clearly hoped would stay buried.