Georgia man sues Flock and sheriff’s office over alleged license plate camera retaliation

License plate searches at center of Georgia lawsuit

A small-business owner in Georgia, Tyler Murkerson, has sued Flock and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office over alleged retaliation using license plate cameras. The lawsuit alleges illegal license plate tracking searches over many months without probable cause and unrelated to any specific investigation, according to Hall & Lampros, the attorneys for Murkerson.

Murkerson’s arrest by sheriff’s deputies in February 2023 involved an alleged seatbelt violation, and those charges were dropped months later. In September 2024, he sued the department accusing it of excessive force, and that case was recently settled. While it was pending, Murkerson says his car’s license plate was searched multiple times in the Flock system and that deputies followed or monitored him as he drove to and from his home.

Free text entries cited as safeguard failure

The October 8 complaint states that Flock’s platform required only some text in a free-form field and accepted whatever was typed. It says the only justifications entered for the searches of Murkerson’s vehicle were ‘info’ and ‘37,’ neither of which corresponds to an investigation, case, incident, or call for service. The complaint adds that the same system accepted entries such as ‘investigation’ and, on twenty separate occasions at one department, ‘hehehe.’

According to the complaint, a search recorded that way documents no investigation and instead documents only that someone typed something. It also says Flock has since conceded, by its own conduct, that its platform should have required a verifiable law enforcement justification before executing a search.

Planned case codes and a county audit

In August 2026, Flock announced it would change its software and require case codes for all law enforcement searches by the end of the year. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office began its own audit of the system that same month, and the complaint notes that three employees had resigned before the audit was completed.

Chris Hall, one of Murkerson’s attorneys, told Ars that the issue is surveillance that lets police conduct Fourth Amendment implicated searches without controls. He said the case is focused on illegal activity and alleges violations of Georgia law and the Fourth Amendment because a search and surveillance were put on somebody.

Response and broader scrutiny

Brian Hofer, chair of Secure Justice, said he is unaware of another lawsuit of this type but argued that what agencies do matters more than what they say. He described the case as an example of guardrails not working and said the remedy is to prohibit use of the technology, at least until policing culture changes for the better.

Flock said it stands by the integrity of its technology and its role in helping law enforcement solve crimes, find missing people, and keep communities safe. The company said it disagrees with the claims and intends to defend its position in court. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sources: Ars Technica