Milwaukee police defend Flock cameras amid misuse investigations

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Police Department defends the Flock license plate camera system as it faces criticism after three officers were investigated for misuse of the system. Flock cameras snap images of car license plates driving by, and then officers with access can search the database.

Flock misuse cases

What we know:

The first, Josue Ayala, resigned and then was convicted of spying on a romantic partner and that partner's ex.

The second was fired. Prosecutors accuse Milwaukee Police Department Detective Tehrangi Chapman of using Flock to stalk two people.

Milwaukee Police Department internal affairs is investigating a third officer, for a policy violation, but not for breaking the law. The Milwaukee Police Department told FOX6 this officer is still on duty during the investigation, but has lost access to the Flock system.

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The Milwaukee Police Department said they honed their audits to find possible bad actors after Ayala, and that is how they found the second two.

What they're saying:

"It's extremely important that you have closed-loop auditing that looks at outliers, looks at use cases, and makes sure it's all above board. Even if every single time we audit somebody that they pass. That doesn't mean that they might not get audited the next month," said Milwaukee Police Department Risk Manager James Lewis. "Officers who misuse this system have no place here. We've shown that time and time again with what we've referred to the district attorney's office and what we've opened up with internal affairs because we want to look at these cases as well, and make sure that if there are anomalies in the system, that we have understanding of what those things are."

When asked what he would say to critics who argue the audit did not catch Ayala, the first perpetrator accused and convicted of searching 179 times for a current partner and a partner's ex, Lewis answered: "Could we go back in time? No, we can't. Did we have the appropriate systems in place? Obviously not. What we're trying to build with this is additional safeguards, additional guardrails to show that accountability to the public and to discourage officers who see their peers going through this process, losing careers, losing freedom, becoming convicted of crimes. To say we will catch that," said Lewis.

Then, there was the case of Brookfield police pulling over a woman with guns drawn – after the Flock system flagged it for a Milwaukee homicide. The Milwaukee Police Department said officers failed to adjust the system to show that car was no longer wanted.

"That car itself was actually used in a homicide. That was the correct car, and it was the person who was stopped was not present during the homicide, but someone that she had let use the car was. So I want to say that that car was stopped by officers prior to this. It was towed, processed, subsequently released. The issue here wasn't the technology of Flock; it was the fact that it was not removed from our systems," said Milwaukee Police Department Inspector James Hutchinson. "So it was the right car. It was just bad time, and the technology alerted the other jurisdiction that this car was still wanted, when, in fact, it wasn't, and that was due to human error not releasing it from the system."

Amber Newell was the woman in the pulled-over vehicle, who shared her story with FOX6. Her attorney reacted to the MPD statements.

"Ms. Newell was not involved in any aspect of a homicide," said B’Ivory LaMarr, attorney for Amber Newell. "What could be what as we describe as a careless mistake has resulted in very serious consequences for Ms. Newell, as she has told reporters and the media before: she has lost employment behind what took place."

This week, the Milwaukee Common Council demanded answers from the Milwaukee Police Department about Flock safeguards. The council is giving the Milwaukee Police Department until September 30 to respond. They are still working on that response, so the Milwaukee Police Department would not talk to FOX6 News about the letter.

The Milwaukee Police Department told FOX6 the Flock cameras are helping solve crimes, including finding the exact location of Thomas Zollicoffer, the person they suspected for three homicides, including that of his ex-girlfriend.

"Those incidents were we were aided by many technologies at our disposal, including NIBIN [National Integrated Ballistic Information Network], including surveillance video, including cell tower information, cell phone information, and the download of cell phones, and including automatic license plate reader technology. That automated license plate technology, in that instance, led our officers and detectives to the exact location where our subject was. And then, as I think a lot of people have seen on the news, he was taken into custody safely, despite the fact that he had two firearms in his possession at the time the officers were dealing with them. So, that technology led directly to where his location was through some very talented and thorough investigation," said Inspector Hutchinson.

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The homicide clearance rates, the rate of solving homicides, have improved in recent years. This year it is at 87%.

The Milwaukee Police Department also points to recent kidnapping cases thwarted using the cameras.

"Through this technology and the use of our partners, we were able to have a different county make a stop of that vehicle and save that woman's life. There was further evidence in that case that suggested that there was an up north cabin that was prepared for an execution and a gravesite dug," said Lewis.

One question people have about the Flock system is: are federal partners, including immigration agents, able to use the information in their deportation efforts?

The Milwaukee Police Department tells FOX6 News that the information is only shared with Wisconsin police agencies, and no federal agencies. In addition, the Milwaukee Police Department said the system requires searching officers to place their search reason. Any inquiries for an immigration investigation will not process, MPD said.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.