San Jose officer used Flock cameras to help relative track domestic violence victim, chief says
2026-09-12
San Francisco Chronicle
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A San Jose police officer was fired after illicitly accessing the Flock AI-powered license plate reader database to track a domestic violence victim and sharing her location with his cousin, the alleged abuser. The incident highlights privacy violations and misuse of AI surveillance technology by law enforcement.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The Flock Safety system is an AI-enabled license-plate tracking system used by law enforcement. The officer's unauthorized access and sharing of the victim's location via this AI system directly caused harm to the victim by enabling stalking and potential further abuse. This constitutes a violation of rights and abuse of surveillance technology. The event meets the criteria for an AI Incident because the AI system's misuse directly led to harm to a person and violation of rights. The article also describes responses and policy changes, but the primary focus is the incident itself.[AI generated]