Georgia man sues Flock and sheriff's office over alleged ALPR-fueled retaliation

A Georgia small-business owner, Tyler Murkerson, has filed a lawsuit against Flock Safety and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, alleging that law enforcement misused automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology to retaliate against him. The lawsuit claims that deputies conducted unauthorized, persistent tracking of his vehicle without probable cause or active investigations. Murkerson’s legal team argues that Flock failed to implement necessary safeguards, such as requiring case numbers for searches, instead allowing officers to use free-text fields that facilitate potential abuse. This legal action follows a previous dispute involving Murkerson, who had sued the same sheriff’s department for excessive force following a 2023 arrest that was later dropped. The case highlights growing concerns regarding the oversight of private surveillance technology used by government agencies and the potential for civil rights violations through the misuse of mass data collection tools.