# Federal Judge Rules Warrantless Flock Search Violated Fourth Amendment

> Federal judge orders prosecutors to exclude evidence from warrantless vehicle searches using Flock Safety license plate readers.
- Title: Federal Judge Rules Warrantless Flock Search Violated Fourth…
- Summary: Federal judge orders prosecutors to exclude evidence from warrantless vehicle searches using Flock Safety license plate readers. A federal judge ruled that a…
- Keywords: flock safety, fourth amendment, warrantless search, tulsa county, u.s. district court, melisa susan kyle, dallas police department, license plate reader, news, politics, Federal, Judge
- Source: Dallas Express — https://dallasexpress.com/national/federal-judge-rules-warrantless-flock-search-violated-fourth-amendment
- Author: Dallas Express
- Published: 2026-10-03T21:00:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: flock safety, fourth amendment, warrantless search, tulsa county, u.s. district court, melisa susan kyle, dallas police department, license plate reader, news, politics
## Federal judge rules warrantless flock search violated fourth amendment
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill ruled that a deputy violated the Fourth Amendment by searching historical vehicle-location records without a warrant through license plate reader systems including Flock Safety.

> This is a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance
## Deputy searched vehicle records without warrant
Tulsa County Deputy Sheriff Freddie Alaniz queried Flock and VehicleManager systems for a month of vehicle records across multiple states without a warrant.
## Kyle claimed vehicle was rental
Kyle told Alaniz the Mazda SUV was a rental, but the records tracked the vehicle rather than independently establishing who drove it at every sighting.
## Judge found no reasonable suspicion
Hill upheld the initial traffic stop but found the deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to prolong it for a drug investigation.
## Government argued no privacy expectation
The government claimed drivers have no reasonable expectation of privacy in license plates and movements visible on public roads.
## Judge distinguished individual vs. broad search
Hill distinguished individual observations from a broad database search of historical movements, concluding the search intruded on Kyle's reasonable expectation of privacy.
## Flock expects appeal
Flock Safety spokesman Paris Lewbel stated the company expects an appeal and reversal of the ruling.
## Different precedent applies in Texas
The Fifth Circuit ruled in March that license plate reader use in Texas did not constitute a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant.
## Key takeaway

A federal judge ruled that a deputy's warrantless search of historical vehicle location records via Flock Safety violated the Fourth Amendment, requiring prosecutors to exclude the evidence.