Flock misuse, former Kenosha County deputy charged
Flock misuse, former Kenosha County deputy charged
A former Kenosha County sheriff's deputy has been charged with felony misconduct, accused of misusing Flock cameras and GPS.
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. - A former Kenosha County sheriff's deputy has been charged with felony misconduct, accused of misusing Flock cameras and GPS.
Investigation
What we know:
According to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, back in fall 2025, sheriff's office administration identified potential misuse during an internal audit of Flock system activity.
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The internal investigation found that Deputy Frank McGrath allegedly used the Flock Safety system to track a coworker for an unauthorized personal purpose.
According to the criminal complaint, McGrath ran a coworker's personal vehicle license plate 16 to 17 times through the Flock license plate reader without official cause, falsely categorizing the search reason as "suspicious."
Frank McGrath (photo provided by Kenosha County Sheriff's Office)
The complaint also says that, while off-duty, he monitored the coworker's live squad car GPS and body-worn camera locations on 40 separate occasions. He also used live GPS to contact the coworker with their exact location while telling the coworker "I know everything," drove past their residence, and forced a trainee deputy to drive 13 miles outside his assigned patrol sector to confront the coworker at an I-94 weigh station.
McGrath subsequently resigned from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. Following the internal investigation, the sheriff’s office referred the matter to the Racine County Sheriff’s Office for an independent criminal investigation.
Criminal charges
What we know:
The Racine County Sheriff’s Office finished its investigation and referred its findings to the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to online court records, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office charged McGrath with two counts of felony misconduct in office.
Kenosha County Sheriff's Department
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office says it has implemented additional accountability measures and safeguards governing the use of the Flock Safety system:
- Expanding auditing authority so that any sworn supervisor may audit Flock system activity and individual searches.
- Requiring personnel to document a legitimate law-enforcement reason and associated case number before conducting a license-plate search.
- Reducing Flock data retention from 30 days to 7 days.
- Requiring all sworn personnel to complete remedial Flock Academy training regarding authorized use, policy requirements, privacy considerations, and accountability expectations.
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What they're saying:
"Flock Safety technology is an important public-safety tool, and its use is limited to legitimate law-enforcement purposes," Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner said. "Any misuse of that system is unacceptable. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office will hold any employee accountable for violating the law, department policy, or the public’s trust. We took this matter seriously from the outset, conducted an internal investigation, and ensured it was independently reviewed for possible criminal conduct."
"In addition, we have strengthened our safeguards, expanded our auditing practices, reduced data retention, and required remedial training for every sworn member of this agency. These measures reinforce our commitment to lawful use of this technology and to maintaining the community’s trust."
FOX6 News spoke with Kenosha County Board Supervisor Laura Belsky, who says she is not against the Flocks but demands accountability.
"The alleged use of law enforcement technology to track down a coworker for personal purpose is extremely serious and Flock and law enforcement systems should never be used for personal surveillance," Belsky said. "I think we need to look at it from a judiciary law enforcement committee to ensure that there are legitimate safeguards in place."
Editor's note: This story was updated to include McGrath's photo after the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office provided it to FOX6.
The Source: Information in this post came from the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office, court records and the criminal complaint.