D.C. police decline to disclose who searched their Flock license-plate data or why

First reported: August 28, 2026 · 1 source

NOTUS reports that the Metropolitan Police Department operates 67 Flock automated license-plate readers that scan roughly 400,000 tags per day and retain data for up to three months, but has not disclosed who has queried that data or for what purposes. MPD denied a NOTUS records request for the information and, according to the outlet, has left a January request for Flock audit logs unanswered beyond the 15-business-day window set by D.C. open records law. Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll ended MPD's participation in Flock's National Lookup Tool in January, and outside agencies must now sign a memorandum of agreement to obtain D.C. data. An MPD spokesperson declined to answer whether the District's Flock data had ever been used by federal immigration enforcement.

Why this matters

Audit logs are the primary mechanism by which residents and legislators can verify that ALPR data is used only for stated purposes, so a jurisdiction's willingness to release them shapes what oversight is possible. D.C.'s situation also illustrates how data-sharing defaults can expose one city's records to agencies operating under different legal constraints.

Key facts

MPD signed a $336,000 one-year contract for 67 Flock cameras in December 2024, later extended through the end of 2026 for an additional $201,000; the cameras have been in use since early 2025.
The cameras scan an average of 400,000 tags daily and store data for up to three months, longer than many other jurisdictions, according to NOTUS.
For roughly a year, MPD allowed outside officers broad access to its data via Flock's National Lookup Tool; Carroll ended that participation in January and now requires memoranda of agreement, which he wrote must comply with D.C. law including a statute barring assistance with out-of-state abortion investigations.
An April MPD license-plate reader policy requires an annual audit for possible policy violations.
MPD cites investigative successes including a May 2025 case involving escapees in a stolen car and an arrest in the fatal shooting of congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym; no misuse of D.C.'s Flock data has been established publicly.
Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) said MPD initially deployed Flock with few guardrails but has since made changes that leave her more comfortable, while DeFlock DC founder Francisco Gómez is calling for the cameras' removal.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

D.C. Won’t Say How It’s Using Its Flock Cameras - News of the United States (NOTUS, August 28, 2026)

About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 31, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.