Florida Cop Allegedly Used Flock 717 Times to

A Haines City, Florida, police officer thought he had a fairly good factor going: a government-funded surveillance community, no warrant required, and an estranged spouse who had no concept she was being watched. Investigators say he searched for her vehicle tons of of occasions over practically two years.

Haines City Police Officer Christopher Goodson, 31, was arrested Aug. 11. Investigators say he searched for his estranged spouse’s vehicle 717 occasions in the Flock Safety database between Sept. 1, 2024, and June 30, 2026. Some searches had been made while Goodson was on responsibility. Others had been made while he was off responsibility, according to the arrest affidavit. 

The investigation began after Goodson went to a supervisor, according to the affidavit. He had acquired a textual content saying his estranged spouse had been contacted by reporters about his use of Flock. Goodson acknowledged making what he described as a number of searches of her vehicle.

Investigators discovered fairly a bit more than a number of.

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Records confirmed Goodson searched for the vehicle 86 occasions in August 2025, 280 occasions in September, 72 occasions in October, 104 occasions in November, and another 68 occasions in December. He allegedly accessed the system utilizing a police division laptop computer and cellphone. 

Goodson told his supervisor he was making an attempt to keep monitor of his kids while they had been with his estranged spouse. But investigators said some searches had been entered under purported law-enforcement causes, including “wanted person” and “drug/narcotics.” His spouse was not the subject of a legal investigation, and her vehicle had not been related to a crime, according to police.

Goodson was charged with one depend involving offenses against customers of computer systems, laptop systems, laptop networks, and digital devices, and one depend of official misconduct. He was positioned on paid administrative depart and has agreed to resign from the division.

Haines City just isn’t dropping Flock over the arrest. Police Chief Isaac Jackson said the division intends to keep utilizing the system.

“We want to make it clear that the Haines City Police Department does not tolerate the misuse, unauthorized access, or personal use of any investigative databases or law-enforcement information systems. These resources are provided for legitimate official purposes only and must be used responsibly and in accordance with department policies and applicable laws.”

Goodson is one of a growing quantity of officers accused of abusing license-plate readers.

A review of police and court data discovered at least 50 law-enforcement officers have been charged with or accused of utilizing license-plate readers for unauthorized functions, and that quantity has grown since the review was first revealed. Flock was concerned in 46 of those instances. In 26, investigators or prosecutors said officers used the technology to monitor wives, girlfriends, former companions, their exes’ new companions, or ladies they wished to meet.

One Georgia police chief allegedly searched Flock data for an ex-girlfriend and her teenage daughter roughly 600 occasions. A Wisconsin officer allegedly searched the plates of his ex-girlfriend and her associate 179 occasions. Other instances documented comparable allegations in Kansas, California, and elsewhere.

Flock, for its half, has announced new safeguards after getting caught flat-footed by a wave of abuse instances. The company now says officers could have to connect a legal case quantity to each search, and that searches will probably be robotically reviewed for irregular exercise. Whether a company that left these guardrails non-compulsory for years might be trusted to police its own customers is a query price asking.

Asked Monday about Flock cameras, Trump stopped short of endorsing or proscribing the technology, but he did not dismiss the issues either. That’s notable. A president who has made law-enforcement assist a centerpiece of his model is now being requested whether or not that assist extends to a surveillance software that dozens of officers have allegedly turned on non-public residents.

President Trump on Flock cameras: “You have pros and cons…we’ll have an answer as to our views on it over the next couple of weeks.” pic.twitter.com/NM9ZOsHwCa

— CSPAN (@cspan) August 17, 2026

“You have pros and cons… we’ll have an answer as to our views on it over the next couple of weeks.”

That reply issues. If the administration sides with Flock, it owns every future misuse case. If it pushes for restrictions, it arms an surprising win to privateness advocates on the suitable and left alike. Either manner, the White House is no longer ready to ignore it.

In Goodson’s case, investigators say the searches continued even though his estranged spouse was not under legal investigation. There had been 717 of them.

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