Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines for a Pretextual Weed Search

Police successful Wisconsin utilized Flock to find that a man “travels to Michigan frequently,” wherever marijuana is legal, past backmost to Wisconsin, wherever it is illegal. They past utilized his recreation crossed authorities lines arsenic tracked by Flock arsenic portion of the probable origin justification to hunt his car for weed; he was yet arrested connected marijuana possession charges, according to tribunal records reviewed by 404 Media. 

The searches came to ray successful a Wisconsin criminal title against Edward Abrams-Phillips, who was wanted for bail jumping connected home unit charges. But the criminal title makes clear that beyond the bail jumping and home unit charges, constabulary specifically studied Abrams-Phillips’ interstate recreation to create the pretext for searching his car for marijuana. The bail jumping complaint was dismissed; Abrams-Phillips was recovered blameworthy only of weed possession successful the case, according to the tribunal records.

An excerpt from the "Probable Cause" conception of the tribunal records.

The title explains that Abrams-Phillips was tracked via Flock’s web complete the people of the time to find that he drove from Wisconsin to Michigan, a “known root authorities for marijuana arsenic it is ineligible there,” the title states, adding that erstwhile Flock hits indicated that he “travels to Michigan frequently.” Police statement that, utilizing Flock, they were capable to way Abrams-Phillips driving from Wisconsin to Michigan, past backmost to Wisconsin complete the people of respective hours, wherever he was pulled complete and arrested. The Flock searches and arrests happened successful April 2025.

“The conveyance was observed hitting flock connected respective occasions to see 41 northbound from Brown Rd, 41NB and County Line successful Marinette [Wisconsin], and 41 NB connected Bridge St. going into Michigan. Based connected anterior flock hits, the conveyance travels to Michigan often which is simply a known root State for Marijuana arsenic it is ineligible there,” the charging archive notes. “Around 3:56 p.m., the conveyance was seen connected Flock heading southbound connected interstate 41 towards Green Bay [Wisconsin]. Deputies made a coordinated effort to intercept the conveyance connected 41 from Brown Rd. Deputy Kowalski initiated a postulation extremity connected the conveyance arsenic the driver matched the explanation of Edward.”

After pulling him over, the title states that constabulary “detected the odor of what he knew to beryllium earthy marijuana coming from wrong the vehicle.” 

The lawsuit is an illustration of Flock cameras being utilized to apprehension a wanted alleged criminal suspected of committing a convulsive crime. But it is besides an illustration of constabulary surveillance overreach successful that the cameras were specifically utilized to create a pretext to tack connected further petty crimes based chiefly connected wherever a person’s conveyance had traveled. There is simply a agelong history of surveillance exertion being utilized successful problematic ways successful seemingly unsympathetic cases, which yet creates a slippery slope wherever the exertion tin beryllium utilized against the masses aliases to enforce against very insignificant crimes. 

It is not difficult to ideate constabulary successful 1 authorities utilizing Flock to way a resident of their authorities transverse authorities lines to, for example, get an abortion that is ineligible successful 1 authorities but not successful another. Last year, 404 Media reported connected constabulary successful Texas who searched more than 80,000 cameras crossed Flock’s nationwide network for a female who had a self-administered abortion.

The lawsuit is besides peculiarly concerning considering that Flock cameras person popped up extracurricular of weed dispensaries successful Michigan. The JARS Cannabis dispensary successful Madison Heights, Michigan, went viral this week for putting a “No Flock Zone” motion successful beforehand of a Flock camera successful the dispensary’s parking lot. “We stock our community’s concerns astir accrued surveillance, which is why we placed the No Flock Zone motion successful beforehand of the camera to artifact its expertise to record,” the dispensary said successful a nationalist statement. “JARS does not power the camera aliases person entree to immoderate of the information it collects … aft we installed our No Flock Zone sign, the metropolis issued a request missive informing of sanctions if we did not region it wrong 48 hours.” But that Flock camera exists specifically to show the licence plates of group who travel and spell to the dispensary. It was required by Madison Heights arsenic 1 of the conditions for giving a dispensary licence to JARS: “[The dispensary] must spot a FLOCK licence sheet scanning camera strategy astatine the entranceway of the customer parking batch anterior to commencement of unit sales, and it will springiness the Madison Heights Police Department unhindered unrecorded entree to the FLOCK camera, camera footage, and immoderate and each data, which must stay operational astatine each times.”

Flock Audit Reports covering searches done by the Brown County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Department from April 26, 2025 show that the section utilized Flock dozens of times that day, often searching thousands of Flock cameras astatine a clip (it is not clear which circumstantial searches were done for Abrams-Phillips’ car, because galore of the searches simply database “warrant” aliases “traffic inv” arsenic the reason). 

Tuesday, Flock executives tweeted video examples of their cameras being utilized to rescue abducted children, successful what appears to beryllium a caller trading strategy for the company. “Every kid successful this video is location coming because Flock gave officers the correct accusation astatine the correct second,” Flock’s Chief Strategy Officer Rahul Sidhu tweeted. “That’s the mission. That’s the full company. I wouldn't waste and acquisition that for anything.”