Wisconsin Man Charged After Police Allegedly Used Flock Cameras To Track His Trip To Michigan

Wisconsin Man Charged After Police Allegedly Used Flock Cameras To Track His Trip To Michigan

A Wisconsin man is facing a marijuana possession charge after police allegedly used Flock license plate reader cameras to monitor his travel into Michigan, where recreational marijuana is legal, and then stopped him after he returned to Wisconsin.

According to court documents, investigators tracked Edward Abrams-Phillips’ vehicle throughout the day after noticing that it traveled from Wisconsin into Michigan and returned just a few hours later.

Authorities reportedly pointed to that travel pattern and Abrams-Phillips’ previous trips to Michigan as evidence that he may have been transporting marijuana back into Wisconsin.

Police then coordinated a traffic stop along Interstate 41.

According to the filing, officers did not initially rely on the smell of marijuana or marijuana being visible inside the vehicle. Instead, investigators allegedly relied on the vehicle’s travel history captured through the Flock automated license plate reader system.

Officers subsequently searched the vehicle, and Abrams-Phillips was arrested on a marijuana possession charge.

The case raises questions about the expanding use of automated license plate readers and how information collected about a person’s movements can be used by law enforcement to develop suspicion of criminal activity.

Flock cameras automatically capture information from passing vehicles, including license plates, and allow participating law enforcement agencies to search that information later.

The case also comes amid a broader debate over privacy and the Fourth Amendment as increasingly sophisticated technology allows authorities to reconstruct where vehicles have traveled without physically following them.

Related Stories

Slidell Breaks Ground on New Police Department Headquarters

Minister Among 10 Arrested In Assumption Parish Child Predator Sting

Two Arrested After Veterans’ Memorial Plaques Stolen From Hancock County Cemeteries

Tropical Depression Edouard Keeps Flooding Threat Alive After Louisiana Landfall

Trending Now

1. 1Update: Power has been restored.
2. 2Northshore Community Mourns Loss of Respected Realtor Yvette Catoire Sehon
3. 3Louisiana Sheriff Warns Parents About Threatening “Cat In The Hat” TikTok Reel
4. 4Louisiana Sheriff Warns Parents About Threatening “Cat In The Hat” TikTok Reel
5. 5Louisiana Sheriff Warns Parents About Threatening “Cat In The Hat” TikTok Reel