Oakland County Sheriff's Office investigating alleged misuse of Flock system by former deputy
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office confirmed that it is investigating a former deputy for allegedly misusing the Flock system.
Authorities did not say what the system was used for, but said the deputy was no longer employed by the county at the time of the unauthorized access.
The sheriff's office says it is looking into potential criminal charges and declined to comment further. More information will be released once the investigation is complete.
It is not the first time someone in law enforcement has been accused of misusing the system in recent months. In September, the Eastpointe Police Department said it was investigating two employees who allegedly misused the license plate readers. Police say one of the employees used it for personal use, while the other was a policy violation.
The Easpointe police employee accused of using Flock for personal reasons received "severe discipline commensurate." The other incident remains under investigation.
In Oakland County, several residents have privacy concerns, and many Southeast Michigan communities have suspended their contracts. The discussion of Flock has also reached the federal level, with Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley recently introducing a bill establishing guardrails for Flock cameras and other artificial intelligence.
The bill, dubbed the Stop Flock Abuse Act, would regulate automated license plate readers by imposing stricter limits on data, security and search functions.
Meanwhile, Flock CEO Garrett Langley apologized in August for cases in which law enforcement officers misused the data.
