Documented Incident
Moody, Alabama Residents Press City Council on Flock Oversight After Officer Fired for Policy Violation
First reported: October 13, 2026 · 2 sources
At a Moody City Council meeting on Monday, resident Chris Pridmore questioned Mayor Nick Rutledge about safeguards on the city's Flock license plate reader system, months after Moody Police fired an officer in July following an internal investigation that found a violation of the department's Flock policy, according to WBMA. Rutledge said the episode showed the safeguards functioned as intended because the officer was identified and terminated, while Pridmore said the city has not done enough publicly and called for access to audit logs. Police Chief Reece Smith said he supports stronger laws governing the technology but opposes abandoning it, and maintains Flock records are not public information. The findings were forwarded to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency; a neighboring Springville Police Department audit reportedly found an officer made multiple unauthorized searches on a family member, leading to that officer's resignation and a similar referral.
The dispute illustrates a recurring question for communities with ALPR systems: whether internal discipline alone constitutes meaningful accountability, or whether residents should be able to independently review search audit logs. Moody's debate is unfolding as Alabama agencies expand camera deployments and at least one county commission has moved to restrict them.
Key facts
- Moody Police fired an officer in July 2025 after an internal investigation found a violation of the department's Flock policy; findings were sent to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
- Springville Police Department's internal audit found an officer conducted multiple unauthorized Flock searches on a family member; that officer resigned and was also referred to ALEA, per The Trussville Tribune.
- Moody has used Flock since 2019; its policy requires a criminal justice or public-safety purpose and a dispatch-generated case number for each search, consistent with Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 265-X-6.
- Alabama Department of Transportation records obtained in September showed 872 approved permanent public-safety sensors in state highway rights-of-way, with Birmingham Police holding 70, the largest single-agency allocation.
- Walker County's Commission voted in September to bar ALPRs from county rights-of-way and property, applying only to county-maintained roads; whether ALEA will pursue charges in the Moody and Springville cases is unresolved.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Moody, Alabama Flock Camera Misuse Sparks Oversight Debate (Hoodline, October 13, 2026)
- Flock cameras in Moody spark debate over privacy, police oversight and public safety (WBMA, October 13, 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 14, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.