MPD Confirms Another Investigation into Misuse of Flock Cameras by Law Enforcement Officers, Amongst Other Topics at FPC Meeting.

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At Thursday’s Fire and Police Commission meeting, MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough revealed to members that a current investigation is underway regarding another case of misuse of Flock systems by a MPD officer.

“I will disclose to this body there is an investigation pending, but I cannot disclose any other information at this time,” Hough told the commission.

The employee is on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, which began March 9, Fox6 Milwaukee reports.

Hough revealed this information in regards to a newer, more frequent auditing process for Flock technology. The Milwaukee Police Department has implemented this after a different police officer was found to be using the technology to stalk an ex-girlfriend.

Former MPD officer Josue Ayala was charged with attempted misconduct in a public office in which he pleaded not guilty to, WISN-12 reported in March.

According to the criminal complaint, Ayala ran two different license plates numerous times to acquire location information on his ex-girlfriend and her new partner.

Ayala ran victim one’s license plate a total of 55 times from March of 2026-May 2026. Additionally, he ran victim two’s license plate 124 times during the same 3-month-span, the criminal complaint alleges.

The topic of misuse of flock cameras was a popular concern of many citizens who attended Thursday’s meeting.

In nearly an hour-long public comment section, several members of the community brought up their opposition to flock cameras.

Despite the communities’ concerns, MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough voiced at the meeting that the department has no plans to disable Flock cameras in the city, citing that they have been critical in solving recent crimes.

“Used correctly, they are a valuable tool and this department will not back away from that position,” Hough told the commission.

However, many citizens do not consider the successes of the Flock technology to be substantial.

When called upon, a community member identified as Stephanie elaborated on this topic of concern:

“This tech and access to it is continuing to evolve and widen at a pace far in advance of us having the proper safeguards in place to prevent its violent and potentially deadly misuse. If we consider this current period as the beta testing of what the use of flock can be, we are getting the results of that testing. Any potential benefits of this tech do not outweigh, currently, the harms. Period.”

Community members also expressed concerns about flock technology being used for immigration enforcement.

“[Flock] is being weaponized against immigrants, people seeking abortion access, demonstrators, and can be used for other problematic things we haven’t imagined yet,” Emilio de Torre, a member of the Milwaukee Turners, told the council Thursday.

According to Flock Safety’s website, they do not work with ICE, stating “ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data, unless the agencies that control their data expressly and deliberately allow it.”

MPD’s Risk Manager, James Lewis, assured the commission that MPD has a strict protocol that outlines which standards of practice a law enforcement officer would be violating if they were to make a query of an ALPR system regarding immigration enforcement.

“Immigration enforcement is not the job of the Milwaukee Police Department,” Lewis said. “You would be violating SOP, you would be violating the user agreement, and you would be violating our immigration policy if you made queries enforcing immigration.”

With Milwaukee having over 30 Flock cameras currently in use around the city, and the new report of another Milwaukee police officer misusing the technology, 21-year-old Milwaukee resident Lauren Bean worries about the future of the cities’ relationship with its citizens.

“When you repeatedly have members of the community expressing their disapproval of something, and council members continuing to seemingly work against them, you cannot expect our community to be happy with the council’s work,” Bean stated. “It just doesn’t make sense.”