San Jose police chief says officer fired for using Flock ALPR data to help cousin track accuser

Event: February 1, 2025 · First reported: September 12, 2026 · 41 sources

San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph disclosed on Friday that an officer was fired in April, following a roughly yearlong investigation, for using a personal phone to access license-plate reader data and sharing it with a cousin who was looking for a woman who had accused him of domestic violence. The misuse came to light in February 2025 after the woman reported that the man appeared to know her location; police ran her plate through their Flock database and found the improper access in the audit trail. Neither the officer nor the cousin was criminally charged. Joseph said California law criminalizes unauthorized access to confidential criminal databases but does not clearly cover ALPR data, and he said he would support changing state law.

Why this matters

The case illustrates how ALPR audit trails can surface misuse after the fact but may not deter it, and how gaps in state law can leave such conduct outside criminal liability. It arrives while San Jose faces two pending lawsuits arguing that warrantless searches of stored plate data are unconstitutional.

Key facts

The officer, unnamed by the chief due to personnel protections and the absence of prosecution, had been with the department about two years and was fired in April.
Joseph said he issued a department-wide directive this week barring officers from accessing law-enforcement databases on personal devices.
San Jose has roughly 500 ALPR cameras; the city is being sued by the ACLU and EFF on behalf of SIREN and CAIR's Bay Area chapter in Santa Clara County Superior Court, and separately by the Institute for Justice in federal court on behalf of three residents.
In March, the mayor and City Council unanimously cut plate-data retention from one year to 30 days and barred recording at houses of worship, reproductive health clinics and consulates.
Joseph said the technology's crime-fighting benefits remain clear, and his department has credited ALPRs with helping achieve a 100% annual homicide solve rate for several years.

Timeline

September 12, 2026San Jose police officer fired for abusing Flock license-plate reader database, chief says
September 12, 2026San Jose police officer fired after using Flock database to track cousin’s domestic violence accuser
September 12, 2026San Jose police officer fired for misusing Flock camera data, chief says
September 14, 2026SJPD officer fired after using Flock cameras to help cousin
September 13, 2026San Jose officer fired for misusing Flock camera database in domestic abuse case
September 16, 2026Police Officer Fired for Using Flock Safety Cameras to Help Abuser Hunt Victim
September 22, 2026San Jose Fires Cop Over Flock Misuse [2026]

Sources

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

San Jose police officer fired for abusing Flock license-plate reader database, chief says (The Mercury News, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for abusing Flock license-plate reader database, chief says (East Bay Times, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for misusing Flock camera data, chief says (Nbc Bay Area, September 11, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for misusing Flock camera data, chief says (Headtopics, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for misusing Flock camera data, chief says (Newsbreak, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for abusing Flock license-plate reader database, chief says (East Bay Times, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired after using Flock database to track cousin’s domestic violence accuser (The Mercury News, September 12, 2026)
San Jose officer used Flock cameras to help relative track domestic violence victim, chief says (Yahoo! News, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired after using Flock database to track cousin domestic violence accuser (pressdemocrat.com, September 12, 2026)
San Jose officer used Flock cameras to help relative track domestic violence victim, chief says (Newsbreak, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired after using Flock database to track cousin domestic violence accuser – Times Herald Online (timesheraldonline.com, September 12, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for misusing Flock camera data, chief says (NBC Bay Area, September 12, 2026)
San Jose officer fired for misusing Flock camera database in domestic abuse case (The Guardian, September 13, 2026)
San Jose Police Officer Fired for Misusing AI License Plate Reader Data (oecd.ai, September 13, 2026)
San Jose Cop Fired for Using Spy-Cam Database to Track Cousin's Domestic Violence Accuser (Hoodline, September 13, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (Headtopics, September 13, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (Abc7 News, September 13, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (Yahoo! News, September 13, 2026)
California police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (ABC7 Chicago, September 14, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired after accessing ALPR data to help relative track domestic violence victim (CBS News, September 14, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (Alaska's News Source, September 15, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (WLFI, September 15, 2026)
California police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (ABC7 New York, September 14, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for helping domestic violence suspect (Fox40 News, September 15, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (wndu.com, September 15, 2026)
🚨 San Jose officer fired for misusing Flock camera data (Newsbreak, September 15, 2026)
SJPD officer fired after using Flock cameras to help cousin (KTVU, September 14, 2026)
San Jose officer fired after using Flock camera data for cousin accused of domestic violence (KCRA, September 15, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (WTVG, September 15, 2026)
San Jose cop fired after using Flock to help cousin track woman, chief says (SFGATE, September 14, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (KWQC, September 15, 2026)
SJPD officer fired after using Flock cameras to help cousin (ktvu.com, September 14, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (KCRG, September 15, 2026)
California cop shared Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect who tracked down victim (New York Post, September 14, 2026)
San Jose officer fired for misusing Flock camera database in domestic abuse case (The Guardian, September 13, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (WDTV 5, September 15, 2026)
Police Officer Fired for Using Flock Safety Cameras to Help Abuser Hunt Victim (Townhall, September 16, 2026)
San Jose police officer fired for sharing Flock information with suspect (WWNY, September 15, 2026)
San Jose Cop Used AI Cameras to Track a Domestic Violence Victim (Gadget Review, September 15, 2026)
San Jose Fires Cop Over Flock Misuse [2026] (shattered.io, September 22, 2026)
California police officer fired for allegedly sharing Flock camera data with domestic violence suspect (ABC11 News, September 14, 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 September 25, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.