Massachusetts cop accused of using Flock cameras to track ex-girlfriend's car hundreds of times

This story originally appeared on Them.

A New Bedford, Massachusetts, police officer is under investigation after being accused of using a Flock Safety camera to track her ex-girlfriend’s movements, per the New Bedford Light.

In a signed affidavit, the ex-girlfriend, who is not named in media reports, said she began receiving “endless calls” from her ex-girlfriend Emily Pacheco, a New Bedford police officer, in April after the couple ended their two-year relationship.

“She then generated fake phone numbers to reach out to me, calling and texting,” the woman wrote, per the Light. “Showing up to my home unannounced and refuse[d] to leave when asked … saw me pull into my home while on duty, got out of her cruiser and refused to let me leave.”

The affidavit also includes allegations that Pacheco ran her license plate number through Flock’s system in order to follow her.

Per data obtained by the Light, Pacheco has been one of the top users of the Flock system in New Bedford this year. Pacheco most commonly input “traffic infraction” as her reason for using the tracking software. In April, the month that Pacheco broke up with her ex, she reportedly ran 18 searches. By May, that number ran up to 259, with 220 searches in June, per the Light.

Pacheco was served an abuse prevention order last week by a judge who determined that Pacheco posed a credible threat to her ex-girlfriend’s safety. The judge also ordered Pacheco to give up all of her firearms. Her license to carry is also suspended. Pacheco is currently facing an internal affairs investigation, though police did not confirm to the New Bedford Light why she is being investigated.

The New Bedford Police Department announced shortly after they opened their investigation that they have temporarily suspended use of the Flock system among police officers.

Flock cameras, which automatically scan the license plate number of every car that drives by, have been controversial since their implementation and subsequent nationwide proliferation. While police claim the technology allows them to solve crimes faster, many critics have warned of overreach in how this data might be shared, some have also pointed out that ICE has used this technology to track undocumented immigrants. (While Flock has stated that it does not share information directly with ICE, local authorities with access to Flock can share information.) Many others have pointed out that, in cases such as Pacheco’s, some officers can misuse the technology.

Per an April report from the nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice, there have been dozens of cases of police officers using Flock technology to stalk individuals, especially romantic partners and exes.

Following backlash, several cities — including Flagstaff, Arizona, and Hillsborough, North Carolina — have ended their contracts with Flock cameras, per NPR.

In order to use the system in New Bedford, law enforcement officers were required to sign a memo of understanding stating that “impermissible use” of the technology could result in either criminal prosecution or civil liability, alongside “immediate termination” of access.

Gideon Epstein, a technology expert and a lawyer with the ACLU ofMassachusetts, told the Light that Flock gives police “an unprecedented ability to track all drivers, regardless of whether drivers are suspected of any wrongdoing.”

Epstein continued, “Allegations of police misuse of surveillance technology and databases for personal reasons highlight the need for robust, effective democratic oversight, transparency, and accountability mechanisms in law, policy, and police operations procedures.”

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