Fired over a plate lookup

San Jose police fired an officer who used the Flock license plate reader system improperly and passed what he found to a relative. The relative was a suspect in a domestic violence case.

He used his own phone

The officer pulled up the Flock system on a personal device and gave his cousin the location of a vehicle. The cousin used it to find the woman accusing him.

The chief drew a line

Chief Paul Joseph said an officer who breaks public trust this badly cannot keep police authority or wear the badge.

“This technology is new; the standard is not.”

New rules, new audits

Officers can no longer reach the system from personal devices. The department is testing smart auditing tools that flag lookups with no lawful purpose, and sent the case to state P.O.S.T. for decertification.

Nobody got charged

Neither the officer nor the cousin faces criminal charges. Legal analyst Steven Clark says the officer had authorized access, so the statutes covering confidential database misuse may not reach him.

“He did not commit a crime. But I think that's where we need to play catch up.”

A gap lawmakers may close

Clark expects the legislature to write a new crime for exactly this conduct, since the behavior fell through a hole in existing law.

“It's this officer's behavior slipped through the cracks in the criminal justice system.”

Exhibit A for the critics

The EFF and ACLU are already suing San Jose over its roughly 500 Flock cameras. One resident said the network makes her feel less safe; another said it stops crime cold.

“I feel like they're trying to just kind of mass monitor everyone.”