Federal Judge Rules Tulsa Deputy Violated Fourth Amendment
This week, a federal judge determined that a Tulsa, Oklahoma sheriff’s deputy infringed upon a woman’s Fourth Amendment protections by querying Flock Safety for her license plate without securing a warrant first. Judge Sara Hill found that the deputy had no apparent reason for the search other than the fact that the vehicle had a California license plate.
Suppression of 91 Pounds of Methamphetamine
In the Oklahoma federal court case, the deputy used the woman’s travel history in Flock to justify searching her car. The search allegedly uncovered 91 pounds of meth. Consequently, Judge Hill ordered that any evidence gathered following the Flock query must be thrown out under the doctrine of the fruit of the poisonous tree. Hill wrote that the deputy should have obtained a warrant before searching the Flock database.
Indiscriminate Mass Surveillance and Constitutional Limits
Judge Hill took broader aim at warrantless searches of the Flock database, describing the system as a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance. By design, the system gathers data on every single vehicle driving past any connected camera continuously, making that information immediately accessible to police upon request. Hill noted that tracking people’s location becomes constitutionally problematic when law enforcement can indiscriminately and passively catalog your whereabouts over an extended period of time. This system differs from targeted tracking evaluated in prior Supreme Court cases such as Carpenter v. United States.
National Pushback, Legislation, and Workforce Cuts
The federal ruling arrives amid a growing wave of criticism from across the political spectrum. Numerous local and state governments, including Florida and Texas, have said they will stop using the technology. In response to these concerns, Senator Bernie Sanders proposed the Block Flock Act, designed to prohibit federal agencies from employing automated license plate readers like Flock. Flock CEO Garretty Langley called for a compromise between privacy and safety while offering an apology to women who have been stalked by law enforcement officers using the Flock system. Amid these cancellations, the company has reportedly offered voluntary employee buyouts to shrink its workforce.
