Documented Incident
Fired Milwaukee detective pleads not guilty to charges over alleged Flock database misuse
First reported: August 26, 2026 · 1 source
Former Milwaukee Police Department detective Tehrangi Chapman pleaded not guilty to two criminal charges, one a felony, tied to alleged misuse of the department's Flock license plate reader database. Prosecutors allege Chapman ran searches to track two people's movements 20 times for personal reasons and placed a GPS tracking device on a victim's car. MPD confirmed it fired Chapman the prior week. Court records indicate Chapman had been one of the internal affairs detectives assigned to investigate a separate former officer's misuse of the same system; the prosecutor said plea negotiations are underway, with terms undisclosed, and Chapman is due back in court in October.
The case is the second Milwaukee prosecution over personal use of the same ALPR database, and in both instances the misuse surfaced only after a victim came forward — raising questions about whether internal audits and search-window policies are sufficient safeguards in agencies that adopt the technology.
Key facts
- Chapman is accused of 20 personal-purpose searches of MPD's Flock database and of placing a GPS tracker on a victim's vehicle; he has pleaded not guilty.
- MPD confirmed Chapman's termination; court records show he had helped investigate former officer Josue Ayala's misuse of the same database.
- Ayala pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation after searching an ex-girlfriend and her partner's locations more than 170 times.
- MPD told TMJ4 it has not adopted Flock Safety's recommendation to shorten the database search window from 30 days to 7 days.
- Police Chief Jeffrey Norman defended the department's use of the technology in a July 9 interview, citing examples of proper use.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Fired Milwaukee detective pleads not guilty to charges tied to Flock camera database misuse (TMJ4 News, August 26, 2026)
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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 27, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.