Flock Exposed - Police Tracking Their Own Officers
DC Police Union Challenges Internal Affairs Use of Flock
Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department used Flock camera data to track the whereabouts of its own sworn officers who were under internal misconduct investigation, without their knowledge. The department's officers' union learned of the practice in July 2026, filed a formal complaint, and is demanding the department stop using Flock this way, arguing officers deserve the same transparency and limits the union has long sought for how the technology is used on the public. The matter has moved to arbitration, and the D.C. Council has opened an inquiry.
Source: The Record, from Recorded Future News
Privacy advocates cited in reporting on the case said they are not aware of any prior instance of a police department using its own Flock network to monitor its own personnel this way. If that holds up, the D.C. case may be the first documented example of a department turning this surveillance tool on the officers who use it, rather than on the public - worth watching for whether other departments follow, or whether more unions push back once they learn their own agencies are doing the same.
Questions to Ask Your Town
Does our department's Flock policy say anything about whether the system can be used to track our own officers?
If Internal Affairs wants to use Flock data on an officer, is a warrant, court order, or outside oversight required, the same as it would be for anyone else?
Would our town's police union be notified before, or ever, if the department used Flock this way?
Who decides what counts as a legitimate reason to track an officer's personal vehicle, and who reviews that decision?
This page will be updated as more factual sources become available.