Tracked Down: Flock cameras were used by police in Wisconsin to track out-of-state cannabis purchases 

While marijuana remains illegal in the state of Wisconsin, it is not uncommon for residents to travel to neighboring states like Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan where marijuana is legal, to make purchases at dispensaries. In 2023, the Wisconsin Policy Forum calculated that roughly half of residents over the age of 21 live a little over an hour away from a nearby dispensary. A bridge on Highway 41 curves across the Menominee River, out of Wisconsin, and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Flock cameras, or automatic license plate reading systems, are designed to snap timestamped pictures of cars that include the location they were taken. These images are then uploaded to a cloud network that is accessible by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. 

It was Flock cameras that were used to track a man from Wisconsin into Michigan, allowing police in Brown County to use data provided by Flock as probable cause to search the man’s vehicle for marijuana. According to reporting from 404 Media, charging documents stated “The vehicle was observed hitting Flock on several occasions to include 41 northbound from Brown Road, 41NB and County Line in Marinette (Wisconsin), and 41 NB on Bridge St. going into Michigan. Based on prior flock hits, the vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source State for Marijuana as it is legal there.” 

When the man, identified as Edward Abrams-Phillips, returned to Wisconsin, officers used Flock to track his location. 

“Around 3:56 p.m., the vehicle was seen on Flock heading southbound on Interstate 41 towards Green Bay (Wisconsin). Deputies made a coordinated effort to intercept the vehicle on 41 from Brown Rd. Deputy Kowalski initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle as the driver matched the description of Edward,” the documents concluded. 

After officers allegedly detected an odor of marijuana in the vehicle, Abrams-Phillips was arrested. Though Abrams-Phillips was originally wanted by police due to prior charges involving domestic violence and skipping bail; court records show that he was only charged with possession of marijuana. 

But what happens when Flock cameras are installed outside of dispensaries? It would appear that in Michigan, this moment has already arrived. JARS, a nationwide dispensary chain, was required by the city of Madison Heights to install a Flock camera at the dispensary’s parking lot in order to receive its dispensary license. The dispensary was also required to give police “unhindered live access to the Flock camera, camera footage and all data, which must remain operational at all times.” When dispensary workers responded by installing a “No Flock Zone” sign that blocked the cameras, the city gave them 48 hours to remove the sign, and were issued a sanction warning. 

Using data from Flock cameras to determine probable cause to search someone’s car for marijuana is a stark reality of the modern era of cannabis consumption. Though other government agencies, like ICE, are not given permission to monitor Flock cameras, research from the Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington found that local law enforcement agencies tend to share data with ICE directly. Reporting from 404 Media echoed similar findings, revealing that 4,000 searches via Flock data have been conducted by local law enforcement agencies at the request of ICE.

In Arizona, the city of South Tucson and Sierra Vista recently moved to terminate their contracts with Flock altogether following concerns about privacy and surveillance. There are 267 Flock cameras in Tucson, according to data from Deflock.org. 

On social media, Flock boasts that it is setting “a new standard for public safety accountability.” A recent post alleges that 10,000 people were rescued due to data acquired by Flock. 

But the data paints a different picture. A man was tracked across state lines because it was assumed he was purchasing marijuana. Nationwide, 83,000 cameras were scanned when police in Texas were searching for a woman who had self-administered an abortion. Meanwhile, reports that accuse officers from police agencies all across the country of misusing Flock cameras continue to arise.