Judge says warrantless Flock search violated woman’s rights
A Tulsa deputy’s search of Flock Safety’s vehicle database breached the Fourth Amendment, Judge Sara Hill ruled, ordering evidence obtained afterwards suppressed.
A federal judge has ruled that a Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights by searching Flock Safety’s licence plate database without a warrant. Judge Sara Hill said the deputy had “no apparent reason” to search the plate beyond the vehicle’s California registration.
The deputy later cited the woman’s Flock travel history to justify searching her car, where he allegedly found 91 pounds of methamphetamine. Hill ruled that evidence obtained after the database search must be suppressed as the “fruit of a poisonous tree”.
Hill also criticised prolonged, indiscriminate tracking of vehicles, describing it as “mass surveillance”. She wrote that collecting people’s whereabouts over time and using the information on demand raises constitutional concerns.
TechCrunch, reporting on the ruling, said it does not create binding precedent, though it is among the first federal rulings to find a Flock search unconstitutional. The supplied material does not say whether the decision has been appealed or how it affects the criminal case.
The ruling comes amid wider scrutiny of automated licence plate readers. TechCrunch reports that some local and state governments, including Florida and Texas, plan to stop using Flock, while Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation to bar federal agencies from using such systems.
