Posted on 09/24/2026 4:41:22 AM PDT by DFG
A Florida woman who was wrongfully arrested and held in jail for nearly two weeks in connection to a deadly hit-and-run shared her story with U.S. Congress members.
Lindsey Isaacs addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism on Wednesday, part of its hearing, called "Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network."
What they're saying:
"I came here today because I want you to understand that surveillance technology does not exist in a vacuum. Information collected by technology can become part of an investigation that affects a real human being," she said.
She's talking about her own story.
"My Durango was in immaculate condition, yet I stood there watching law enforcement take it away while telling me that my vehicle had been involved in a crash where three people died," she said.
Florida woman wrongfully arrested by FHP in deadly crash
The backstory:
Isaacs, 23, was arrested in April 2026 and accused of driving the vehicle involved in an October 2025 crash on Interstate 4 that left three people dead.
Initially, the Florida Highway Patrol said Isaacs was driving the Dodge Durango that caused a chain reaction crash before driving off. Isaacs spent 13 days in jail in conditions she described as "horrifying" before the charges were dropped.
"It was the worst 13 days of my life," Isaacs said. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone…it was very scary. So there's just no words to describe my emotions other than I thought my life was over."
Isaacs and her attorneys demanded a review of the evidence. FHP later cleared Isaacs and arrested another woman, Alisa Montalvo, in connection to the crash.
Lawsuit filed against FHP
Isaacs is suing FHP over her arrest.
In the lawsuit, Isaacs and her attorneys accuse troopers of lying about evidence supposedly linking her to the crash.
FHP troopers claimed in the arrest report that they had observed "smudge or rub marks" on Isaac's vehicle.
But her attorney said photos of Isaac's vehicle showed no damage associated with the crash.
A separate FHP team later reviewed her vehicle and found zero crash damage.
Push for "Lindsey's Law"
On Wednesday, Isaacs told FOX 35's Marie Endinger that she hopes Congress will consider a law, perhaps called "Lindsey's Law," that puts in verification requirements before making an arrest using license plate readers.
Marie: "What would you want that law to look like?" Lindsey: "Some type of verification before making an arrest on ALPRs"
Lindsey: "They shouldn’t just look on the camera and immediately make an arrest or impound a vehicle for no reason."
Flock cameras, ALPRs suspended amid ongoing privacy discussions
Big picture view:
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee's hearing comes amid growing backlash against automatic license plate readers and ALPR companies. Flock Safety is one of a number of companies that create and manage license plate reader cameras and systems.
Those against ALPRs cite privacy and surveillance concerns. Others have brought up concerns regarding who has access to those systems, what safeguards are in place, how that data can be used, and how long it can be stored.
Several cities and law enforcement agencies in Florida and across the country have suspended or ended their license plate reader programs amid the backlash and pending changes at the legislative level.
Law enforcement leaders, including police chiefs and sheriff's, have defended the technology, asserting that it is a necessary investigative tool in solving cases, finding missing/endangered persons, and AMBER Alerts.
For what she went through lawsuit payments to her should be in the hundereds of millions. That will get the financial attention of renegade law enforcement officials and their political bosses.
Technology is only as smart (or dumb) as the person using it. By extension, that’s also the problem with AI. Even if we concede that AI can “think”, it can’t reason. It can’t make value judgements based on common morality. It can’t make snap decisions based on a lifetime of wisdom. We will continue to have problems with AI so long as it doesn’t contain an ethical or moral component. We’ve spent a lot of time saying what AI can do. We need to spend more time figuring out what it can’t or shouldn’t do, and why.
CC
The cops in this case are lying their arse off and need to have qualified immunity removed and tried for false imprisonment, falsifying documentation and kidnapping.
Then a law established nationally that LEO needs a warrant for any third-party surveillance when used in conjunction with arrests or investigations
I worry that people will read stories like this and conclude that Flock cameras are the problem. They are a valuable tool for LE, but they can’t solely be relied on. Perhaps more training is needed.
“Perhaps more training is needed.”
LOL. Good luck meeting DEI quotas and expecting near-genius level intelligence - at the time, which is what it takes to deal with the information streams from Flock cameras. To put it another way, at least 90% of the people legitimately arrested behave just like her - “why you arresting me, I did nothing wrong?”
It would have to be a procedural change characterizing "hits" on searches as no different than an anonymous phone tip.
The systems are basically marketed as "magic" solutions to crime fighting. Sort of like with DNA testing, where most folks can't seem to comprehend the concept of a "false positive". The presumption is it must be true and accurate always.
Unfortunately, policing is more about brawn than brains. Train them all you want but, as a general group, they will never have the technical judgement or discernment of an engineer in evaluating the results produced by these systems.
And accountability. Everyone who accesses the database should have a login ID. State the reason for the access and regular audits done on every center with access.
‘For what she went through lawsuit payments to her should be in the hundereds of millions. That will get the financial attention of renegade law enforcement officials and their political bosses.”
No it won’t. The renegade law enforcement officials and political bosses don’t pay a penny of it. The taxpayers do.
If I was king a law enforcement officer and officials would have to get insurance coverage for this stuff, and if they can’t get covered, they can’t work. And then take the lawsuit fines from their pensions. Then it might catch their attention.
It’s not the cameras that are the problem, it’s bad policing. Youtube channels such as The Civil Rights Lawyer and The Lackluster Channel feature hundreds of cases just like this, in which innocent people have their lives ruined by corrupt and/or incompetent police. Videos from these channels sometimes wind up on FR.
Lindsey Isaacs needs to sue, sue, sue and insist on jury trials.
The entire “qualified immunity” thing needs to be done away with entirely. It has no basis in law.
L
Indeed. The Secret State Police would have loved them; the Committee for State Security would have installed them by the thousands.
Perhaps more training is needed.
LE has proven that, with the sort of personnel currently in it, training is simply something to bypass or ignore ... and hide behind "qualified immunity".
LE needs a thorough overhaul, from top to bottom, before sane people would even consider trusting them with persistent, omnipresent surveillance tools.
“Technology is only as smart (or dumb) as the person using it.”
Be sure to include that same thought to the authors of AI programs. And to make matters worse, the authors have a political bias that will influence the design of their programs.
Back the Blue...
Training is a directive control. It does nothing to stop any bad seed.
Everyone took training to pass a license test. That means no one speeds or turns illegally, correct?
The technology is not going away, the best we can do is make abuse incredibly painful.
Every lazy, stupid, corrupt, or uncaring vermin in the government that allowed this to happen needs to have his life ruined. Any cop, judge, or prosecutor who touched this woman’s case should be impoverished and imprisoned yesterday.
Despite having some value for law enforcement, the Flock cameras pose great risks. A system that tracks innocent people going about their business is the ideal tool for tyranny. Orwell in his novel, 1984, very accurately portrays a society where a person’s every move is watched by Big Brother. I shudder to think if the US turns into a socialist state how these cameras could used.
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