Documented Incident
Goodyear officer on leave after department audit flags possible Flock ALPR misuse
Event: July 21, 2026 · First reported: August 11, 2026 · 10 sources
The Goodyear Police Department said in an Aug. 11, 2026 statement that an unnamed officer was placed on administrative leave on July 22 after a July 21 internal audit of the department's Flock automated license plate reader activity identified what investigators described as a potential criminal violation. Goodyear asked an outside agency to handle the criminal inquiry, and the Glendale Police Department is conducting that investigation. Goodyear said its own internal review will resume once Glendale finishes. The disclosure came a day after an Apache Junction officer resigned over misuse of that department's Flock system.
The case shows both that routine ALPR audits can surface questionable searches and that such misuse may go undetected until an audit occurs, a point of interest for agencies and councils weighing how closely surveillance queries should be monitored.
Key facts
- Officer placed on administrative leave July 22, 2026, following a July 21 audit of Flock activity; the officer has not been named and no charges have been reported.
- Goodyear requested an outside agency investigate; the Glendale Police Department is leading the criminal investigation.
- Goodyear operates 33 Flock ALPR cameras, according to the department.
- Announced a day after an Apache Junction officer resigned over Flock misuse.
- Chandler ended its Flock contract Aug. 7; Tempe withdrew from Flock's national data-sharing program while continuing to use the cameras.
Timeline
- August 11, 2026Another Arizona police officer accused of misusing Flock system
- August 12, 2026Goodyear Police Dept. investigate whether officer misused Flock license plate reader system
- August 12, 2026Goodyear Police Dept. investigate whether officer misused Flock license plate reader system
- August 12, 2026Goodyear police probe potential misuse of Flock cameras, officer placed on leave
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Another Arizona police officer accused of misusing Flock system (azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic, August 11, 2026)
- Goodyear Police Dept. investigate whether officer misused Flock license plate reader system (ABC15 Arizona, August 12, 2026)
- Goodyear Police Dept. investigate whether officer misused Flock license plate reader system (Yahoo, August 12, 2026)
- Goodyear Police Dept. investigate whether officer misused Flock license plate reader system (Headtopics, August 12, 2026)
- Goodyear Police Investigate Officer's Misuse of AI License Plate Reader (OECD AI Policy Observatory, August 11, 2026)
- Goodyear Police Officer Allegedly Misused Flock Technology (arizonadailyindependent.com, August 13, 2026)
- Another metro Atlanta official accused of misusing Flock license plate system (95.5 WSB, August 13, 2026)
- Goodyear police probe potential misuse of Flock cameras, officer placed on leave (Fox 10 Phoenix, August 12, 2026)
- Goodyear police officer under criminal investigation for potential misuse of Flock system (12News, August 12, 2026)
- Goodyear police probe potential misuse of Flock cameras, officer placed on leave (Headtopics, August 12, 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 August 19, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.