Katy Police Department now audits every officer with access to its Flock license plate reader system on a monthly and quarterly basis. The department detailed the safeguards after firing Sergio Rodriguez for allegedly using the cameras to stalk his ex-wife.

Rodriguez faces two third-degree felonies: stalking and misuse of official information. He allegedly ran his ex-wife's plate through the Flock network 2,386 times over 11 months, KHOU 11 reported on X. Prosecutors said the case is the first of its kind. As we reported Aug. 26, Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty and is due in Fort Bend County court in September.

The department's statement, reported by ABC13 on Tuesday, Aug. 25, outlined five layers of oversight now in place:

• A permanent digital audit trail logs every search, including who ran it, when and why.
• Flock's automated system monitors for abnormal search patterns and triggers immediate lockouts.
• The chief of police and command staff audit a random sample of officers monthly.
• A full quarterly audit covers all officers with search access.
• Search access is restricted to officers in investigative roles. Not every patrol officer can query the system.

The department said any policy violation will result in immediate loss of system access and disciplinary action up to termination and criminal prosecution.

Rodriguez's ex-wife filed a formal complaint with the department in October 2025, alleging he was tracking her movements, according to Houston Public Media. The department suspended him immediately. After a joint investigation with the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, Katy PD fired Rodriguez and brought criminal charges.

Court documents show Rodriguez allegedly tracked his ex-wife's vehicle using Flock cameras from November 2024 through April 2025 and placed a physical tracking device on her car. The KHOU report's 11-month figure may reflect a broader window of system access beyond the charged stalking period. The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office arrested him in early May 2026. He was released on a $30,000 bond with a no-contact order.

The department noted that the same Flock audit trail Rodriguez allegedly abused was the tool investigators used to build the criminal case against him.

Katy PD has used the Flock system for five years and credits it with helping solve hundreds of crimes annually. In a statement to Houston Public Media on Aug. 25, the department called the technology "one of the best crime-fighting tools developed in our modern policing."

The Rodriguez case is not isolated. ABC13 reported Aug. 24 that officers in Harris County, Fort Bend County, Baytown, Pasadena and Deer Park were all investigated for possible Flock misuse in the preceding month.

Howard Henderson, founding director of Texas Southern University's Center for Justice Research, raised broader questions in that Aug. 24 report: "How many Flock cameras are operating and where? How long is the data being retained? Who can search that data, and is every search being audited?"

Flock Safety has since made platform-wide changes, including cutting default data retention from 30 days to seven, requiring a case number before any search and making its abnormal-use detection tool mandatory for all law enforcement customers.

Rodriguez faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. His next court appearance is scheduled in Fort Bend County in September.