Milwaukee cop’s misuse of Flock ALPR undercuts case for facial recognition use

The debate in Wisconsin over whether police in Milwaukee should be allowed to use facial recognition or join Biometrica’s network to share images of convicted criminals and missing people has taken a new twist. Revelations that a Milwaukee Police Department officer misused the city’s network of Flock automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras has added to the perception that oversight is lacking and responsible use policies for sophisticated technology will be ignored.

MPD recently paused its use of facial recognition while it develops a formal policy to govern its use. That move also put a proposed partnership with Biometrica on hold. Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office has signed a letter of intent with Biometrica in the meantime.

Now, an MPD officer is accused of using Flock’s camera network while on duty to look up the license plate number of a person he was dating more than 120 times, and that of the person’s ex-boyfriend another 55 times, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The investigation into alleged misuse of the system was sparked by a driver who noticed in public records that their license plate had been searched numerous times.

There are 31 Flock cameras deployed across Milwaukee. The MPD officer is the second law enforcement official in the state to be charged with misusing Flock cameras.

The ACLU of Wisconsin says the accusations show how easy it is for police officers to abuse the technology, and notes that an MPD official said in mid-2025 that officers had already been disciplined for misusing systems like Flock’s.

Derek Riley, a computer science professor and program director at Milwaukee School of Engineering told Wisconsin Public Radio that debates like that Milwaukee is currently having over police use of facial recognition raise “all these questionable privacy things where we all have pause. I think that’s where, as a society, we’re still wrestling with this, and I think that’s OK. We just have to do it in the open as much as possible.”

The MPD officer involved in the latest allegations is expected to resign.

Article Topics

Biometrica  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Flock Safety  |  law enforcement  |  license plate readers  |  Milwaukee  |  Milwaukee Police Department  |  responsible biometrics