Racine County Flock camera system misuse; new measures implemented
RACINE, Wis. - There are 37 Flock cameras in Racine and almost a dozen others around Racine County. They are supposed to be used to track vehicles and find criminals. But in the past two months, the Racine County Sheriff's Office and Racine Police Department have each had two cases of officers misusing them.
After the Racine County district attorney looked over the cases, two of them have been dismissed: one from the sheriff's office and one from the Racine Police Department.
Racine County Sheriff's Office case
What we know:
The sheriff's office investigation was dismissed on June 1 because the officer handed over the Flock information he gathered to the Summit Police Department right away, and did not harass the person he was searching for.
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In that case, according to a letter from the district attorney, the officer used the cameras when his significant other feared immediate harm from her ex-husband.
Racine Police Department case
Dig deeper:
The other case from late May involved a Racine Police Department officer tracking down a license plate of a car he co-owned. This officer was not charged because of the small number of times he used the Flock system, and the fact he was searching for a vehicle he owned.
Officials said the allegations were an abuse of the Flock system.
Racine Police Department
Disciplinary action?
What's next:
While these two officers have not been criminally charged, it is up to their department or office regarding possible disciplinary action.
The district attorney could not comment on the two active investigations.
Chief Ramirez said Flock cameras are used often in cases.
"Certainly, it's worth it for the city and the public to have," Chief Ramirez said. "Over the past couple years, we have been able to bring down our gun violence using the Flock systems. Along with our other systems, it helps us in solving crimes."
Measures taken
What we know:
Both the sheriff's office and police department are putting in measures to avoid misuse in the future. Both said they are beginning to limit the circumstances in which Flock can be used and are working with Flock to strengthen their auditing process.
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The Racine Police Department incident is being investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, while the sheriff's office incident is being investigated by the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office.
The Racine County district attorney was not able to provide an estimated date for the rulings of the two active cases.
FOX6 News is looking into any disciplinary actions taken against the officers in the two cases that are no longer active.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ben Hanson and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the Racine County Sheriff's Office, the Racine Police Department, the Racine District Attorney, Flock Safety and Racine Police Chief Ramirez.