The rapidly expanding network of Flock Safety automated license plate readers (ALPRs) is marketed to the public as the ultimate tool for catching violent criminals and solving kidnappings. But privacy advocates have long warned that handing over untethered, mass-surveillance power to local police departments is a recipe for abuse.
This week, in Fort Pierce, Florida, that nightmare scenario played out in the worst way possible.
A now-former Fort Pierce police officer, Josepher Crutchfield, was arrested on September 8, 2026, and slapped with four felony counts of unauthorized computer access after a criminal investigation revealed he was using the city’s ALPR network as his own personal stalking device.
“No Legitimate Law Enforcement Purpose”
According to the initial broadcast by CBS 12 News, the sheer scale of the digital harassment is staggering.
Fort Pierce Police Chief David Smith confirmed that the former officer entirely abused his power when he “used Flock surveillance cameras to track his ex-girlfriend”.
Digital footprint audits revealed that Crutchfield “searched the database for his ex’s car nearly 400 times between October 2025 and July 2026”. To make matters worse, Chief Smith noted that these relentless searches had “no legitimate law enforcement purpose and were mostly done while Crutchfield was off duty”.
The investigation quickly expanded when detectives realized Flock wasn’t his only weapon. Crutchfield was also accused of “using three other police databases over the last few years to look up people’s names and personal information”. Subsequent external reporting confirmed he was running his ex’s data through massive state and federal systems, including the FCIC, NCIC, DAVID, and TLO databases.
Incredibly, “This isn’t the first time Crutchfield was under investigation. He was suspended for 2 days without pay in 2021 after an internal affairs investigation found he harassed several co-workers in the department”.
Crutchfield ultimately resigned on August 18, just days after the media started asking questions and a formal criminal probe was launched. He was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on an $80,000 secured bond. Under Florida law, willfully exceeding authorized access on a computer network is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison per count.
A Statewide Reckoning for Flock
The arrest has sent massive shockwaves through the department. Chief Smith was visibly frustrated during his press conference, stating firmly, “The cameras are here for our community safety, not to be abused by those who were entrusted to safeguard them”.
As a result of this massive breach of trust, the Fort Pierce Police Department has completely gutted its ALPR access protocols.
“Now access to the license plate readers will be limited and restricted to only lieutenants and higher-ranking officers,” the report detailed, adding that “the data they collect will only be saved for 7 days instead of 30”. The system can no longer be used for general investigative surveillance; every query now requires a case number tied to a forcible felony or a missing person.
But the fallout extends far beyond Fort Pierce. This incident is adding major fuel to a massive statewide pushback against ALPR technology in Florida.
Just weeks before Crutchfield’s arrest, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) revoked all existing permits for license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way, ordering local agencies to remove the devices by September 30. Even Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on the controversy in late August, publicly warning against the creation of an “AI surveillance state” and explicitly citing recent reports of officers weaponizing Flock cameras to track their ex-partners.
With multiple officers across Florida—including recent arrests in Haines City and Sarasota—facing similar charges for tracking estranged spouses, the narrative that ALPRs are strictly for “community safety” is becoming increasingly difficult for law enforcement to sell.
One Response
Why would have thought that this technology would be abused by cops? Only everyone!