Denver woman sues Flock Safety and Columbine Valley police over wrongful theft citation

Event: September 27, 2025 · First reported: October 6, 2026 · 12 sources

Chrisanna Elser filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on Monday against Flock Safety, Columbine Valley police Sgt. Jamie Milliman, Chief Bret Cottrell, and the towns of Columbine Valley and Bow Mar. The suit alleges Milliman cited her for theft on Sept. 27, 2025 based solely on a Flock license plate reader capture of her truck passing through Bow Mar, despite doorbell video of the actual theft showing a different woman who fled on foot. The charges were later dropped; the lawsuit says Milliman was disciplined for his demeanor but not for his use of the camera system or the quality of the investigation. Flock says its technology accurately located Elser's vehicle and that interpreting that data was law enforcement's responsibility.

Why this matters

The case tests whether an ALPR vendor can be held liable alongside police for how its data is used, and raises questions about what internal limits — such as requiring a case number or warrant before a search — govern officer access to location histories.

Key facts

Lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; seeks class action status, which no court had certified as of Tuesday.
Claims include Fourth Amendment violations, invasion of privacy, and negligent design of Flock's system; all remain unproven allegations.
The suit states Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras capturing roughly 20 billion license plates monthly.
Elser says she was being fitted for a gown more than a quarter-mile away when the theft occurred, and that charges were dropped after two weeks.
The complaint alleges Milliman was fired from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in 2013 over investigative work, then hired and later promoted by Columbine Valley.
Columbine Valley's town administrator said the town had not been served and does not comment on pending litigation; Bow Mar did not immediately respond.

Timeline

October 6, 2026Denver woman sues Flock, police after being accused of a crime she didn’t commit
October 7, 2026Colorado Woman Wrongly Accused of $25 Porch Theft Sues Flock Safety, Police
October 6, 2026Denver woman files federal lawsuit claiming Flock cameras were misused to falsely charge her with theft
October 7, 2026Federal civil rights lawsuit targets Flock and local police
October 6, 2026Denver woman files federal suit over Flock camera misuse, false charges

Sources

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

Denver woman sues Flock, police after being accused of a crime she didn’t commit (The Denver Post, October 6, 2026)
Colorado Woman Wrongly Accused of $25 Porch Theft Sues Flock Safety, Police (Hoodline, October 7, 2026)
Colorado woman falsely accused of package theft sues Flock Safety, police department and officer (9news, October 7, 2026)
Colorado woman falsely accused of package theft sues Flock, says the impact still lingers (CBS News, October 7, 2026)
Denver woman sues police, Flock Safety after being falsely accused of stealing package from porch (The Colorado Sun, October 6, 2026)
Denver woman files federal lawsuit claiming Flock cameras were misused to falsely charge her with theft (Denver7, October 6, 2026)
Denver woman files federal lawsuit claiming Flock cameras were misused to falsely charge her with theft (Koaa News 5, October 6, 2026)
Woman falsely accused of theft based on Flock cameras is suing (Denverite, October 7, 2026)
Dry Creek fire evacuation warning lifted; SCOTUS will decide whether Boulder can sue big oil; Denver woman sues police and Flock after wrongful theft accusation (KGNU Community Radio, October 7, 2026)
Colorado woman falsely accused of package theft sues Flock Safety, police department and officer (Yahoo, October 7, 2026)
Federal civil rights lawsuit targets Flock and local police (Kdvr Fox 31 Denver, October 7, 2026)
Denver woman files federal suit over Flock camera misuse, false charges (Yahoo, October 6, 2026)

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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 October 12, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.