GoKawiilGeorgia man sues Flock and Coweta sheriff over alleged license-plate tracking retaliation
Tyler Murkerson has filed a lawsuit against Flock Safety and the Coweta County Sheriff's Office, alleging deputies repeatedly searched his license plate in the Flock system without probable cause while a separate excessive-force suit he filed against the department was pending. His attorneys say deputies entered meaningless justifications like 'info' and '37' for these searches, and that Flock's software let officers type anything into a free-text field instead of requiring a verified case number.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The case highlights a recurring criticism of Flock's automated license plate reader network: that its lax entry requirements make it easy for officers to run searches without documented legal justification, potentially enabling surveillance abuse. A ruling against Flock or the sheriff's office could pressure vendors to build stricter safeguards into police surveillance tools and expose departments to liability for how officers use them.
- Murkerson alleges months of unauthorized license-plate searches tied to a pending excessive-force lawsuit against the same sheriff's office.
- His attorneys say Flock's system accepted nonsense entries like 'hehehe' and '37' instead of requiring verifiable case numbers.
- The lawsuit, filed October 8, names both Flock Safety and the Coweta County Sheriff's Office as defendants.
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Georgia man sues Flock, sheriff's office over alleged ALPR-fueled retaliation”
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