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Wisconsin Cops Used Flock Over 100 Times To Track a Navy Veteran After He Lawfully Recorded a Traffic Stop
Reason ^ | 9.2.2026 11:15 AM | Autumn Billings

Posted on 09/03/2026 7:02:27 AM PDT by Skwor

A federal lawsuit claims the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office used the Flock cameras without a legitimate government purpose and in retaliation against the vet for exercising his First Amendment right. {...} Jones was subsequently arrested "for resisting and obstructing," according to a federal lawsuit he filed against the arresting officers and police department. But after being held in custody for five hours, he was released with no citations or criminal charges. An internal post-arrest memorandum reviewed by Reason revealed that Shayhorn's supervisor informed him shortly after the arrest that he'd, in fact, illegally stopped Jones, and he therefore could not compel Jones to produce his identification.

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: 1984truth; donutwatch; flock

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To: sit-rep

So, the harassment and illegal arrest don’t bother you? Something we should all expect to put up with, and get over it?


21 posted on 09/03/2026 7:34:04 AM PDT by BuchananBrigadeTrumpFan (If in doubt, it's probably sarcasm)
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To: Gunslingr3

Thanks for the reply. I looked up the ruling. The ruling based on the 4A, being secure in your home, person, and papers. And in this particular case, your cellphone records.

It was a good ruling. Want the cellphone records, get a warrant.

But I can’t see how it would apply to taking images while out in public. If that were so, cops could not take video of, say, a crowd of people without a warrant.

The whole Flock system is a mess. Stupid and abusive cops have destroyed what value it might have had.


22 posted on 09/03/2026 7:35:20 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: Skwor

Definitely not a fan of flock cameras, but arguing that something should be banned because sometimes it is abused, would be no different than defunding all cops, because some cops are bad.

Heavy penalties and jail when appropriate for abusers would help solve both problems.


23 posted on 09/03/2026 7:37:00 AM PDT by qwerty1234
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To: qwerty1234

Cops are a necessary evil just like government to maintain civility in a society. Both should be limited in size and power always. I am pro police, but it doesn’t take a genius to know if you have to many police for the size of a city you will get way more abusing their power, it is literally the nature of power. We have 6000+ years of history that proves that.

Flock camera is nowhere near that level of need.


24 posted on 09/03/2026 7:40:23 AM PDT by Skwor
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To: Leaning Right
There is no expectation of privacy in public

But there is an expectation of being allowed to go about one's lawful affairs unmolested by state authorities lacking probable cause.

25 posted on 09/03/2026 7:43:50 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: unixfox

> accessed by anybody that thinks they need to <

There’s the problem. As I mentioned earlier, if the police (or any agency) want to view the video, they should have to go before judge, show cause, and get a warrant. That would cut down on a lot of the abuse.

> F these cameras, bring em all down I say. <

This is a classic case of let the people decide. Vote for politicians who won’t install such cameras in your community.


26 posted on 09/03/2026 7:44:52 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: TangoLimaSierra

“Save the children” logic is not trivial it is typically intentional manipulation via emotions in an attempt to avoid presenting an actual supportable reasoned position.

People using it are more often not trying to support their point logically or rationally; they are trying to shut down such reasoning in an attempt to get their way through emotional bullying.


27 posted on 09/03/2026 7:45:29 AM PDT by Skwor
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To: Skwor

ya I seen the same stats on copilot to...

But they still used the old cameras to track people. The “Flock” system is automated with mapping to follow a vehicle automatically. The old systems they have/had to manually switch between cameras and watch the whole vid to see if the vehicle passed thru. the fact is they still did it!!

I can understand the concern, I do, but there are too many “gooks inside the wire” in the era!! send fire teams out to rid the nation of the scum and we wouldnt need the surveillance!!


28 posted on 09/03/2026 7:46:53 AM PDT by sit-rep (I may be Dumb, but I'm not Stupid!)
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To: Skwor

Democrat state doing Democrat things


29 posted on 09/03/2026 7:49:54 AM PDT by AppyPappy (They don't call you a Nazi because they think you are one. They do it to justify violence. )
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To: Skwor

Minority Report anyone?


30 posted on 09/03/2026 7:54:56 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: AndyJackson

I should have been clearer in my post #5. “There is no expectation of privacy in public” applies to taking pictures or video without the subject’s permission.

Consider a person walking past a store while on a public sidewalk. The store’s video happens to record that person. Can he sue the store for invasion privacy? No.

Now consider a cop who rolls up on a fight. His body cam records not only the fighters, but innocent people standing in the background. Can the people standing in the background sue the cops for invasion of privacy? Again, no.

The problem is not the videoing. The problem is the abuse that can be done with the videos. That abuse will not be easy to stop.

That’s why I can understand why the Flock system is disliked so much.


31 posted on 09/03/2026 7:56:32 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: Leaning Right

There is no compromise on this! If there is law enforcement problem, hire more police, give them the best training, and pay them a professional wage. Problem solved.
But, the powers that be would rather take that tax money (your money) and spend it on their favorite projects that will make them look good.


32 posted on 09/03/2026 7:56:46 AM PDT by Highest Authority (DemonRats are pure EVIL)
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To: sit-rep

Thank you for the more reasonable tone. Yes, the old cameras had limited tracking ability, so much so it was not employed easily nor casually. It took effort and intent with a likely identified crime as a justification.

Flock’s ease and availability and protentional for abuse, not just a minor abuse, but the amount and seriousness of the abuse take this to a level that creates a threat level that is intolerable imo.

This is borne out by the sheer volume of violations already committed by the police, it is only a matter of time until real tyrannical oppression enabled by these cameras becomes common.


33 posted on 09/03/2026 8:02:29 AM PDT by Skwor
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To: Highest Authority

> the powers that be would rather take that tax money (your money) and spend it on their favorite projects that will make them look good <

Ha! That’s a fair point. In some ways, the camera system is like the old “midnight baseball” program. Both ignore the root problem.


34 posted on 09/03/2026 8:03:11 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: escapefromboston
Maybe if the information is only accessible with a legal warrant issued by a judge for a specific crime but even then it could still be abused by the private company that owns flock cameras

The time to get a warrant from a judge might be too long to save someone who was just abducted, or a bank robbery or any number of time critical examples. That's why an account login would make the person who accessed the system to be responsible for the reason.

Now, the possible abuse by the Flock company would certainly need to be addressed.

35 posted on 09/03/2026 8:04:16 AM PDT by TangoLimaSierra
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To: Skwor

20... 30, 40 years ago I would be standing in front of you after taking the megaphone to finish your speech!! but honestly, what you are saying is inevitable!! The sole reason government has let things get this far out of hand IS PRECISELY WHY we are having this convo right now. They let things get out of hand so the only way to fix it is government!!

The peolep, are still nowhere near the needed braking point to stop it!! They dont want to hunt down the bad guys themselves and remedy the situation... IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE!!

Remember back when WACO happened? ...when Clinton happened!?? I attended many of Freeper road trips to protests, as well as other patriot group outings. We tried! We had a loud voice... We did some good. it’s too late for it now IMHO and no matter what we do, the inevitable is still going to happen. Government is the only way...

We are where we are in life, because WE put ourselves here...

Use the new tech to stop the scum bags... If a few innocents get takin out along the way, we can only monitor it and stomp our feet so as to try to stop it from happening again. other that that... go fishing and drink a beer or 2...


36 posted on 09/03/2026 8:23:45 AM PDT by sit-rep (I may be Dumb, but I'm not Stupid!)
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To: TangoLimaSierra

I agree, the Cops need to log in with a personally assigned account, at which point they become 100% PERSONNALY ACCOUNTABLE for ALL misuse of data they collect.

NO LONGER should TAX PAYERS be on the hook for these incidents.


37 posted on 09/03/2026 8:34:21 AM PDT by OHPatriot (Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: Leaning Right

“Stupid and abusive cops have destroyed what value it might have had.” Exactly. Abuse of the system by cops is already rampant. I read just yesterday of a cop who Flock-stalked his ex-girlfriend, using the database over 1,000 times to keep track of her comings and goings.


38 posted on 09/03/2026 8:54:21 AM PDT by Blurb2350 (posted from my 1500-watt blow dryer)
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To: Leaning Right

Expectation of privacy in public and being essentially stalked are two different things buddy.

If I tracked your whereabouts and recorded them down, that opens me to a stalking charge.

These cameras know where I go and when, and keep a profile of my car based on that. I am being stalked.


39 posted on 09/03/2026 9:12:13 AM PDT by SPDSHDW (A sinner saved by Jesus)
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To: sit-rep

This is not the first time or even the hundredth time they have been abused like this. There are stories for months now about cops abusing the system.

My problem isn’t so much the cameras but how they are used and since they cannot stop the abuse, I am against the cameras till they come out with a foolproof method of stopping the abuse by police.


40 posted on 09/03/2026 9:14:20 AM PDT by packrat35 (“When discourse ends, violence begins.” – Charlie Kirk, and they killed him anyway)
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