reSee.it Video Transcript AI Summary
Joel Fetter, an automotive journalist, experienced a tense confrontation after leaving Kohl’s in Plymouth, Minnesota, during which multiple Plymouth police cars surrounded his Range Rover. Fetter said officers pulled in from both sides and he was “boxed and pinned” with four police vehicles and lights on, and he repeatedly told them, including that he was not armed. Fetter followed officers’ orders, and although officers kept their hands on their holsters, they did not draw weapons.
An officer later explained the reason: Fetter’s license plate was registered in a flock system as stolen. Fetter had documentation showing the plate was not stolen and learned he had been on police radar for a while. Fetter also said Plymouth officers told him the same missing-plate alert had appeared for other cars driving across Minnesota with similar dealer plates.
Courtney Hoggard reported that flock uses cameras to read license plates automatically across the country. The company reports 20 billion vehicles pass its cameras each month and its readers capture 93% of license plates, and Plymouth has 15 intersections with flock cameras, including one that tracked Fetter into the Kohl’s parking lot. The transcript also notes that even correct camera reads can lead to errors due to human error, and that a small number difference mattered: Fetter’s plate was “3410 DTM,” while the system reported “34 DTM,” and the “10” difference allegedly did not seem to matter.
Police said someone in Los Angeles originally reported a plate missing with small-number differences, where the “10” was on Fetter’s Range Rover. The transcript states flock has a 7% inaccuracy reading rate, and that when police receive no information or bad information, errors can cascade into unnecessary stops. It adds that exigent circumstances are usually emergencies and that Minnesota law allows warrantless monitoring or tracking via automated license plate readers only under exigent circumstances.
The ACLU of Minnesota is tracking misuses of surveillance technology, including officers using alerts to stalk romantic interests. In this case, flock told the outlet that alerts should be treated as investigative leads and that officers should independently verify license plates, vehicle details, and surrounding circumstances before taking enforcement action.
The transcript concludes with a separate update: in Wisconsin, Milwaukee detective Tehranji Chapman was accused of misusing the department’s flock system, allegedly tracking a victim’s car nearly two dozen times for personal reasons. He is charged with misconduct in public office and misuse of a GPS device.