Documented Incident

New Bedford officer accused in court filing of using Flock to track ex-girlfriend; city pauses system

Event: August 11, 2026 · First reported: August 13, 2026 · 16 sources

An abuse prevention order issued Aug. 10, 2026, in New Bedford District Court names Officer Emily H. Pacheco and requires her to stay 50 yards from the applicant, a former partner who alleged in an affidavit that Pacheco ran her license plate through the Flock Safety system to follow her movements. New Bedford Police confirmed Aug. 11 that an unnamed officer was placed on administrative leave based on system audits and that internal investigations are open; the department said it would not release further details. Police Chief Jason Thody also announced a temporary suspension of the city's Flock cameras pending a review of how the technology is used. The allegations have not been adjudicated, and the order was in force for three days pending a hearing.

Key facts

• Abuse prevention order issued Aug. 10, 2026, ordered Pacheco to stay 50 yards away, surrender firearms and ammunition, and had her gun license suspended; it ran three days pending a hearing.
• The applicant's affidavit alleges repeated unwanted contact after an April breakup, including calls from generated phone numbers and Pacheco arriving at her home in a police cruiser while on duty in late April.
• New Bedford has 20 fixed Flock cameras and one mobile unit among 249 city cameras, under a two-year, $81,000 contract approved in 2024.
• Chief Thody suspended the Flock system starting the week of Aug. 11 for a review; residents criticized the program at a July 28 meeting, and an online petition seeking suspension pending public hearings had 319 signatures.
• The ACLU of Massachusetts, represented at the July 28 meeting by Gideon Epstein, argued Flock is location-tracking technology rather than simply a license plate image collector.

Timeline

• August 13, 2026Officer accused of tracking ex via Flock, used police cruiser
• August 14, 2026New Bedford officer accused of using Flock camera to track ex-girlfriend to face judge
• August 14, 2026New Bedford officer accused of using Flock camera to stalk her ex
• August 13, 2026New Bedford suspends use of Flock cameras, officer accused of using system to track ex-girlfriend
• August 14, 2026Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend
• August 14, 2026Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend
• August 13, 2026New Bedford officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex-girlfriend
• August 14, 2026Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend
• August 17, 2026New Bedford officer accused of tracking ex with Flock cameras
• August 17, 2026Police Officer Allegedly Used Flock Cameras to Track Her Ex-Girlfriend’s Car Over 200 Times
• August 17, 2026Police Officer Allegedly Used Flock Cameras Over 200 Times While Tracking Her Ex’s Car
• August 20, 2026Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track her ex-girlfriend; department suspends entire system after her plate was searched a ‘concerning’ number of times

Sources

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

• Officer accused of tracking ex via Flock, used police cruiser (SouthCoastToday.com, August 13, 2026)
• New Bedford officer accused of using Flock camera to track ex-girlfriend to face judge (WJAR, August 14, 2026)
• New Bedford officer accused of using Flock camera to stalk her ex (NBC Boston, August 14, 2026)
• New Bedford suspends use of Flock cameras, officer accused of using system to track ex-girlfriend (CBS News, August 13, 2026)
• Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend (gulfcoastnewsnow.com, August 14, 2026)
• Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend (koco.com, August 14, 2026)
• New Bedford officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex-girlfriend (WCVB, August 13, 2026)
• Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track ex - girlfriend (wvtm13.com, August 14, 2026)
• New Bedford police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track and follow ex - romantic partner (newbedfordlight.org, August 12, 2026)
• New Bedford police officer investigated for allegedly using Flock surveillance cameras to track her ex (Boston.com, August 16, 2026)
• New Bedford officer accused of tracking ex with Flock cameras (boston.com, August 17, 2026)
• Police Officer Allegedly Used Flock Cameras to Track Her Ex-Girlfriend’s Car Over 200 Times (Them, August 17, 2026)
• Mauldin officer accused of using FLOCK cameras over 160 times to track ex (Live 5 News, August 14, 2026)
• Ex-girlfriend says New Bedford officer used Flock cameras to track her (MassLive.com, August 18, 2026)
• Police Officer Allegedly Used Flock Cameras Over 200 Times While Tracking Her Ex’s Car (them.us, August 17, 2026)
• Massachusetts police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track her ex-girlfriend; department suspends entire system after her plate was searched a ‘concerning’ number of times (The Times Of India, August 20, 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 25, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.