Flock license plate reader wrongly linked a San Diego man to a violent crime

variety8675

I'm no fan of flock, but I dislike how these articles are blaming the technology when the real issue is the police not bothering to check the information they're given

helterskelter

ACLU needs to take his case and sue everything in sight. Why would they not have a human look at the hit? Flock, San Diego and the SDPD are all liable.

tptacek

This doesn't seem like a Flock story so much as SDPD making an arrest purely on a nexus to "red Alfa Romeo with tinted windows". From what I understand of the story, the Flock camera did in fact tag a red Alfa Romeo (there's a still frame in the article). It wasn't the right one, but ALPR cameras aren't psychic; they tell you features, make/model, and plate, not "criminal culpability".

bryan0

> Their tort claim notes that the path the men took to the cigar lounge passed by several other Flock cameras, which could have corroborated their story, as well as the location data on their cell phones. It seems like if the police actually looked at the Flock data it would have exonerated them?

amazingamazing

Ironically flock is what proves innocence. What would happen here without it?

sam1r

FYI: This San Diego man also has been arrested before/prior this incident.. & has a past record. So can you really blame the courtroom being handed this (eventually wrongful) license plate data.

himata4113

I saw a video recently that flock camera installations don't follow local or city laws. All poles that hold roadsigns generally need to safely handle impact and get certified / inspected. However, flock cameras have none of it. Not the same video, but best I could find: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_zmZLJY5Ev4