Goodyear officer under criminal investigation for alleged Flock license plate reader misuse

Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 unrated

Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.

Where they agree

A Goodyear police officer was placed on administrative leave and is under criminal investigation after a July audit of the Flock license plate reader system flagged concerning activity.
This is the third Phoenix-area agency in roughly a week to disclose suspected Flock misuse, following cases in Apache Junction and Chandler.
Flock’s system requires officers to log a name, reason, and case number for each search, and includes an automated audit tool that flags unusual search patterns.
Most other Valley agencies contacted said their own audits found no evidence of misuse.

Where they differ

ABC15 provides the most detail, contextualizing Goodyear’s case within its own 14-agency survey and comparing it to the Apache Junction and Chandler incidents.
12 News runs two brief, separate items — one narrowly on Goodyear’s leave status, another on Tempe ending automatic Flock data sharing — without linking the developments together.
Only ABC15 includes the Apache Junction police chief’s comment that misusing Flock currently isn’t a crime, and Flock’s own explanation of how its audit technology detects anomalies.
Tempe’s move to end automatic data sharing and rebid its ALPR vendor is reported with minimal explanation of motive in the 12 News piece, leaving unclear how directly it ties to the misuse cases.

A Goodyear Police Department officer has been placed on administrative leave and is now the subject of a criminal investigation after an internal audit of the department’s Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) system flagged suspicious activity. The case, disclosed in a Goodyear press release, makes it the third Phoenix-area police agency in about a week to report suspected misuse of the AI-powered camera network.

What did Goodyear police find?

According to Goodyear’s press release, a routine audit of its Flock system in July turned up activity that raised concerns about how one officer was using the tool. The department has not detailed what the officer allegedly searched for or why, but confirmed the officer is on leave while a criminal investigation proceeds. Goodyear was one of 14 Valley law enforcement agencies that ABC15 contacted on a Tuesday to ask about Flock audit practices and any known misuse; the department issued its press release hours after being contacted.

How does the Flock system work, and how is misuse discovered?

Flock Safety cameras mounted on streets photograph passing vehicles, and artificial intelligence pulls details such as license plate number, color, make, and model, storing the data in the cloud. Officers who search the database must log their name, a stated law-enforcement reason, and a case number, creating an electronic record of each query. Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel told ABC15 the company has built an automated audit tool that uses machine-learning to flag unusual patterns, such as an officer repeatedly searching plates unconnected to any case, or running searches at times outside normal patrol activity.

What happened at other Valley departments?

Goodyear’s case follows two other recent disclosures. Apache Junction police officer Josh McDaniel resigned after being accused of misusing the Flock system to try to track down his wife in another city. Apache Junction Police Chief Mike Pooley told ABC15 that, under current law, what McDaniel did isn’t a crime, adding, “In my opinion, should it be? Absolutely.” Separately, Chandler’s police department said it was investigating an employee after an audit turned up an “anomaly” in system use that couldn’t be explained by normal police work; Chandler Police Chief Bryan Chapman said any potential misuse of Flock “should be taken seriously.”

How are other departments responding?

Of the 14 agencies ABC15 contacted, seven had responded by Tuesday afternoon, and all seven said they conduct regular audits and had not found any abuses. Mesa and Casa Grande police both told ABC15 they had investigated a prior citizen complaint about Flock use but found no violations. Tempe police announced Tuesday that it will stop automatically sharing its Flock data with other police agencies and is planning to seek bids for a new ALPR vendor, according to a separate 12 News report, though further detail on the reasoning or timeline for that decision wasn’t provided.

Why does this matter?

Flock’s license plate readers have spread rapidly across Arizona and the country as a policing tool, but the string of recent cases raises questions about oversight of officers who have access to a database capable of tracking any vehicle’s movements. The built-in audit features are catching some questionable searches, but as Apache Junction’s police chief noted, misuse of the system isn’t clearly a criminal offense under current law, leaving departments to rely on internal discipline such as resignations or administrative leave while investigations proceed. It remains unclear whether Goodyear’s case will result in criminal charges, and no further details about the officer’s identity or the specific searches under review have been released.

Sources

Featured photo: Wikimedia Commons via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)