BREAKING: FEDERAL JUDGE RULES COPS USING FLOCK CAMERAS TO TRACK DRIVER FOR WEEKS WITHOUT A WARRANT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
A Federal Judge In Oklahoma Just Ruled That Police Violated Constitutional Rights When They Used Flock Cameras To Pull A Driver’s Travel History Without A Warrant.
On October 1, 2026, The U.S. District Court For The Northern District Of Oklahoma Threw Out Evidence In United States V. Melisa Susan Kyle. The Court Said A Warrantless Search Of Flock & Another Plate-Reader System Was An Illegal Search Under The Fourth Amendment.
Tulsa County Deputy Freddie Alaniz Looked Up A California Plate During A Traffic Stop. The Search Returned More Than 50 Sightings Over At Least 30 Days In Many States. The Record Showed The Car Leaving Locust Grove, Oklahoma, Heading Toward The California & Arizona Border, Then Turning Back Toward Missouri.
Here Is How The System Works. Cameras On Patrol Cars & Fixed Spots Snap License Plates. They Log The Date, The Time, & The Place. Officers Can Then Search That Stored History Across The Country. In This Case The Deputy Typed In Reasons Like “Traffic Violation” & “Investigation” & Got Weeks Of Movement Data. He Did Not Have A Warrant. He Did Not Have Probable Cause For That Search.
The Judge Said People Have A Real Privacy Right In That Long Record Of Where They Go, Even On Public Roads. Older Cases Let Police Watch One Car On One Trip. This Is Different. The Court Called It Indiscriminate Mass Surveillance On A Dragnet Scale. Modern Plate Readers Can Follow A Car Across States For Weeks. That Kind Of Tracking Needs A Warrant.
The Stop Itself Started Lawfully. The Deputy Said The Car Followed Another Vehicle Too Closely, About 30 Feet, Which Can Break Oklahoma Traffic Law. But The Court Said He Had No Good Reason To Hold The Driver After He Gave Back The License & Papers. He Kept Her To Run A Drug Dog. Nervousness, A Rental Car, Luggage, & A Short Trip Did Not Add Up To Real Suspicion Of A Crime.
Because Both The Extra Detention & The Plate-Reader Search Were Unlawful, The Court Suppressed What Came After Them. That Includes The Later Vehicle Search & Statements. The Judge Said No Exception Saved The Evidence.
This Order Does Not Shut The Cameras Off. It Says Searching The Stored History Of An American’s Drives, With No Warrant, Violates The Constitution. The Case Number Is 26-CR-00189-SEH.