CrossvillePrivacy

Joel Feder — tracked for days, then boxed in over a plate that was never stolen

Automotive journalist Joel Feder (The Drive) and his wife were leaving a Kohl’s parking lot in Plymouth when four squad cars boxed them in. Officers ordered hands up; Feder was patted down. Body-cam and Feder’s own account show police had been following Flock plate alerts on the Range Rover press loaner for days, then staged the stop when a camera pinged the Kohl’s lot.

The alert chain started with a bad database entry, not a stolen car. A New Jersey manufacturer plate reported lost in California was logged incomplete as 34 DTM (missing the small middle digits). Feder’s actual plate was 34 10 DTM. According to Feder’s account and later police reporting, the Flock alert did not distinguish those small middle characters, and the network treated the loaner as a hit and kept notifying Plymouth PD. The VIN came back clean; the police report later confirmed the original plate had been lost, not stolen, and was entered wrong.

Sources: The Drive — Feder first-person account · FOX 9 Minneapolis · CBS Minnesota / WCCO · Catalogued as ID 42 in the AI wrongful-enforcement database and FLK-2026-015 in the misuse master database.

Detective arrested and terminated; sheriff suspends Flock pending a complete audit

On July 23, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office announced that an internal audit had flagged Detective Brandy Almany’s use of restricted law-enforcement databases. The agency alleges that Almany used the Flock ALPR system, Florida’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID), and the Comprehensive Case Information System (CCIS) to obtain information about her husband’s ex-wife for personal reasons. Investigators further allege that she used unrelated case numbers and created false electronic records to make the searches appear connected to legitimate investigations.

Almany was arrested on charges of official misconduct and offenses against computer users and was terminated from the agency. Those are allegations, not a finding of guilt. Sheriff Patrick Breeden said he ordered a complete internal audit of the databases and suspended the agency’s use of Flock while the review proceeds. The agency had not announced when or whether the cameras would return as of July 24.

Sources: WESH 2 — sheriff statement and charges · WFTV 9 — arrest, termination, and Flock suspension · News 6 / ClickOrlando — internal-audit details

Baytown PD investigating officer accused of misusing Flock license plate readers

In late July 2026, Baytown Police Chief John Stringer announced that the department had received allegations that one of its officers misused the city’s Flock Safety license plate reader system. Stringer authorized both an internal affairs investigation (for possible policy violations) and a separate criminal investigation, and asked the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to assist on the criminal side for objectivity and transparency.

The department has not publicly identified the officer or detailed the specific allegations, citing the ongoing probes. Those are allegations under investigation, not a finding of guilt by a court or by this site. The Harris County DA’s Office confirmed to KPRC 2 that it received a referral; it does not disclose whether a named person is under investigation.

Sources: Click2Houston / KPRC 2 — chief statement and DA referral · ABC13 — investigation announcement · Houston Chronicle · KPRC 2 report (YouTube)

Georgia agencies fire and charge officers in a fast-moving Flock misuse wave

Local and statewide reporting in June and July 2026 describe a cluster of Georgia law-enforcement employees fired and/or arrested after audits allegedly found personal or non–law-enforcement Flock license-plate searches. Coverage includes Cherokee County deputies, five former Albany Police Department officers, Fayetteville officers flagged during audit-tool testing, a Henry County officer, a DeKalb County Sheriff’s sergeant, and a Conyers Real-Time Crime Center supervisor — among others. Atlanta News First reported identifying at least 20 Georgia cases in the past year with discipline and/or criminal allegations tied to improper Flock use.

Those are agency allegations and pending cases, not findings of guilt by this site. Departments and Flock have pointed to new audit-assistance tooling; critics say the volume of cases shows how easy personal lookups remain without warrant rules.

Sources: AJC — DeKalb / Henry / Fayetteville firings · Atlanta News First — Georgia case count / audit tool · Reason — Conyers arrest / statewide tally · AJC — earlier Georgia pattern (June)

Detective who investigated Flock stalking is himself charged over Flock and GPS tracking

Milwaukee Police Department internal affairs had investigated Officer Josue Ayala for alleged personal Flock searches of a romantic partner and that partner’s ex (about 179 lookups in earlier reporting). In July 2026, local and national coverage reported that Detective Tehrangi Chapman — one of the investigators on that case — was himself charged after allegedly using Flock to track people in his own life and secretly installing a GPS device on one person’s vehicle. Those are charging allegations, not a conviction.

Sources: The Marshall Project — Ayala / Milwaukee Flock searches · Institute for Justice — ALPR stalking catalog · Local July 2026 charging coverage summarized in national reporting (Urban Milwaukee / FOX6 / TMJ4).

Sergeant resigns amid probe into alleged Flock tracking of a fellow officer

In July 2026, Pasadena Police Sgt. Michael Palitz resigned while under an active internal investigation. City Council Member Emmanuel Guerrero told KPRC 2 he believes the probe centered on allegations that Palitz used the city’s Flock Safety system to track and stalk a female fellow officer. Reporting says unusual search volume helped flag the account. The department confirmed the resignation under investigation and said the probe continues; as of late July reporting, no criminal charges were publicly announced. Allegations, not a finding of guilt.

Sources: Click2Houston / KPRC 2 — resignation · KPRC 2 — council transparency discussion · Houston Chronicle — Houston-area Flock context

Two Greer officers fired after alleged unauthorized Flock searches and false reasons

Greer Police terminated Kareem Lynch (June 26) and Sebastian Echeverry (June 29) after an internal investigation alleged unauthorized Flock searches. Separation documents described by the Greenville Online say Lynch searched plates of an officer he had previously been in a relationship with and entered inaccurate reasons to mask activity; Echeverry allegedly searched multiple plates and falsely entered “Alcohol Offense Non-DUI” as the reason. The department said they face no criminal charges. Allegations from the internal investigation, not court findings.

Sources: Greenville Online — Greer PD Flock scandal