404 Media obtained body camera and in-car footage, along with Flock and Motorola ALPR records, showing Tulsa County deputy Freddie Alaniz searching license plate reader data on a laptop while driving 60 mph, before fully pulling over driver Melissa Kyle. A federal judge had already ruled the Flock search that led to Kyle's arrest an unconstitutional warrantless search and 'indiscriminate mass surveillance,' tossing out evidence of 91 pounds of methamphetamine found in her car. The footage was purchased from a Tulsa courthouse clerk after the court declined to post it online despite it being entered as evidence.
404media.co
· 2026-10-19
U.S. District Judge Sara Hill ruled that a Tulsa County sheriff's deputy violated the Fourth Amendment by searching Flock Safety's license-plate database without a warrant, based solely on a vehicle having California plates. Because the search lacked justification, Hill ordered evidence from the resulting car search—including an alleged 91 pounds of methamphetamine—suppressed as 'fruit of the poisonous tree.' Hill also described Flock's camera network as a form of 'indiscriminate mass surveillance' that tracks all vehicles passing its cameras.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-03
Federal judge Sara Hill ruled that a Tulsa County deputy's warrantless search of Flock's nationwide license-plate reader database violated the Fourth Amendment, suppressing evidence of roughly 91 pounds of methamphetamine found during the stop. The case began when a deputy tailed a car solely because of its out-of-state plates, then used Flock's database to review over 50 prior sightings of the vehicle before searching it. Separately, Senators Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced legislation to ban license plate reader networks like Flock's nationwide.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-03
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. border agents may search travelers' electronic devices without any individualized suspicion, rejecting arguments for a warrant requirement. The decision came in United States v. Alisigwe, a case in which prosecutors used evidence from two warrantless cellphone searches conducted at the border. The Knight First Amendment Institute and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had filed a brief urging the court to require warrants, citing First and Fourth Amendment concerns.
knightcolumbia.org
· 2026-09-18
An investigation into Flock Safety examines how the company's automated license-plate readers have spread across thousands of U.S. communities, creating a dense network of surveillance that local police departments increasingly rely on. The piece traces how privacy law's ambiguous constitutional footing—rooted in Fourth Amendment protections rather than an explicit right—has left room for technologies like Flock's cameras to expand largely unchecked. It situates this growth within a longer post-9/11 trend of trading privacy for promised safety and convenience.
newyorker.com
· 2026-09-09
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