A Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office lieutenant used the county's Flock license plate reader cameras to look up two people nearly 190 times over four years for reasons unrelated to law enforcement, according to documents obtained by ABC13. The punishment: a two-day suspension.
The case, which involved the surveillance system that monitors roads in Katy and Fulshear, is one of at least three documented Flock misuse incidents by Houston-area officers since July.
Internal affairs records show the lieutenant searched one license plate 41 times and another 148 times between January 2022 and December 2025. The lieutenant admitted the searches had nothing to do with official police work. According to the Houston Chronicle, the lieutenant is female and tracked a woman with whom she had a "very contentious familial relationship."
The victim discovered the surveillance by searching her own plate on haveIbeenflocked.com, a crowdsourced database built from public records requests of Flock audit logs. She reported the lieutenant to the sheriff's office, fearing for her family's safety.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Eric Fagan, said in a statement to the Chronicle that every allegation of misconduct is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, and that appropriate disciplinary action is taken when officers violate policy. The lieutenant was not criminally charged and has not been publicly named.
University of Houston law professor David Kwok told ABC13 that for improper Flock use to be escalated beyond administrative discipline, there needs to be clear intent to harm, such as trying to benefit oneself financially or cause harm to someone else.
Pattern across the region
The Fort Bend case is not isolated. A Pasadena police sergeant, Michael Palitz, resigned July 8 after allegedly using Flock cameras to track and stalk a female officer. In Baytown, Police Chief John Stringer announced July 24 that both internal affairs and criminal investigations were opened after similar allegations; that officer also resigned, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office is assisting with the criminal probe.
Meanwhile, Harris County commissioners renewed a nearly $1 million Flock Safety contract in May 2026, extending it through June 2027, as Houston Public Media reported. The business court meeting, normally 10 to 15 minutes, stretched past an hour as residents opposed the deal.
"I have great confidence that this tool is used for the maximum benefit of our community, especially those victims of crimes," Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said at the May meeting when commissioners approved the renewal.
Commissioners promised contract amendments to address public concerns. As of Monday, Aug. 10, none have been made.
What Katy-Fulshear residents should know
Flock cameras hang above nearly 7,000 miles of Harris County roads, scanning plates and logging vehicle make and model. Both Harris and Fort Bend counties, which together cover Katy and Fulshear, use Flock and other automated plate reader systems. Advocacy groups estimate more than 10,000 Flock cameras are deployed statewide, with several thousand concentrated in the Houston area.
Flock Safety introduced a new AI auditing tool in April 2026 designed to flag abnormal search patterns for agency review. CEO Garrett Langley said in a July 17 interview reported by the Chronicle: "We heard from customers, we heard from communities loud and clear that Flock should do more."
No Katy Police Department or Fulshear Police Department camera counts or specific local policies were available in public reporting.
Residents who want to check whether their plate has been searched can visit haveIbeenflocked.com. Those with concerns about law enforcement conduct can contact the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office or their local police department's internal affairs division.
