# DC Police Union Alleges MPD Used ALPRs to Track Officers, Igniting Privacy Firestorm The **Washington, D.C., police department's union** is clashing with the **Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)** after discovering that Internal Affairs investigators allegedly used **Flock Safety** automated license plate recognition (**ALPR**) cameras to track sworn officers without their knowledge. Privacy advocates state there are no known prior instances of police departments deploying **Flock ALPRs** to monitor their own personnel. The **MPD** has defended the practice, stating its “position is that the use of LPR in the misconduct investigation was appropriate.” Union officials learned in July that the department had been using **Flock** to track officers under investigation, according to a September 10 statement from **DC Police Union President Gregg Pemberton**. The union asserts that the **MPD** has not established or enforced adequate controls for a system as “powerful” as **Flock’s**. "A system with such broad and extensive capabilities requires not only significant guardrails but also full transparency with the public,” said **Pemberton**, a high-ranking detective. “The **MPD** has provided neither.” The union filed a complaint and insisted the **MPD** cease using **Flock** to track officers. Management denied the complaint and refused to investigate managers involved in the searches, according to the union. The same day the grievance was denied, the **MPD** reportedly issued “a new teletype restricting department-wide access.” The **MPD** declined to comment on these alleged new restrictions or their timing, stating the dispute is heading to arbitration. ## National Backlash Against Flock The dispute in Washington emerges amidst intense national scrutiny of **Flock Safety**. Numerous instances of law enforcement using **ALPRs** for questionable surveillance have drawn widespread criticism. **Austin, Texas**, for example, ceased using **Flock** in June 2025 following public pressure. Several other cities have followed suit, including **Cambridge, Massachusetts**, **Evanston, Illinois**, and **Eugene, Oregon**. State governments in **Texas** and **Florida** also announced significant new restrictions on **Flock** usage in late August and early September. Notably, an analysis by the digital rights nonprofit **Secure Justice** found that over 90 U.S. cities and counties terminated their contracts with **Flock** in August alone. Since 2021, the nonprofit has documented over 200 terminated contracts, indicating that nearly half of these cancellations occurred within the last six weeks. **Flock Safety** has not responded to requests for comment. ## 'Strong Enthusiasm Against Flock' The **DC Police Union’s** press release highlighted concerns that “the full capabilities of this system remain unknown.” “Public trust cannot be built through secrecy about this technology, and officer trust cannot be built by tightening rules on the rank and file while refusing to investigate the officials who abuse the system,” **Pemberton** emphasized. The union is now exploring additional challenges to reform how the department manages **Flock** data access and appropriate use cases. They insist the department must mandate the same justification, logging, and audit rules for officers at every rank. Privacy advocates view the union’s comments as striking, emblematic of growing public concern over **Flock’s** mass surveillance capabilities. “I've never seen a rank and file [police] union like this vociferously calling to say the power police have needs to be rolled back,” said **Jake Laperruque**, a surveillance expert at the **Center for Democracy and Technology**. “It really speaks to how strong the enthusiasm against **Flock** is that… even police in a major department are saying we should not have these powers.” The **DC Council** is also taking notice. On September 14, Councilmember **Brooke Pinto**, chairwoman of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, sent a letter to **MPD Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll** requesting answers to ten questions regarding the department's use of **Flock** data and its necessity. “Security and privacy are fundamental rights for our residents — we must always balance the dual important duties of our government to protect the public’s safety and to safeguard our civil liberties,” **Pinto** stated. “The public deserves transparency and must understand how this technology is being used in our communities.”