This Engineer's Cop-Tracking 'Flock Camera' Gets Him A Visit From The Police

There's no shortage of stories about Flock's controversial traffic camera system and the privacy concerns surrounding its use by law enforcement. One story, however, saw a Canadian software engineer turn the tables on the police. Anthony Sistilli built a homemade camera to track police vehicles, using an Amazon-bought camera and AI to write the software.

The software analyzed video footage to identify police cars and read their license plates. The system also used GPS data from his phone to record each vehicle's location. Sistilli posted about the build and camera on social media, which eventually prompted two police officers to visit him and question him about the camera. The officers asked Sistilli what he intended to do with the information the camera had recorded, which is exactly what many drivers want to know about the data Flock cameras collect.

After this incident, Sistilli started looking into Flock, specifically how police departments use the ALPR technology. He also spoke with attorneys, elected officials, and civil liberties advocates about these systems. Sistilli found that there were many concerns about unauthorized data sharing and the expansion of surveillance networks. As of this writing, it's unknown whether Sistilli still has his homemade camera or if he has been instructed to stop using it.

After Canadian software engineer Anthony Sistilli built his version of a Flock camera, he found that the company has a playbook on how law enforcement agencies can answer city council questions. According to Flock's website, the "objection-handling playbook" would be part of a webinar teaching attendees how to engage with city council members and communities. Attendees would also receive social media resources for their public information officers.

Resistance to Flock's license plate readers is rising. For example, officials in Christiansburg, Virginia, voted in August 2026 to end the town's agreement with Flock and remove the cameras — and it's only one of many cities fighting against Flock cameras. Members of the public have taken things into their own hands, too: that same month, police in Dallas, Texas, reported that around 25 of the city's 650 Flock cameras had been vandalized over the past several months.

More recently, Colorado resident Chrisanna Elser filed a federal lawsuit in October 2026 against Flock Safety, a police sergeant, and two municipalities after being wrongly issued a criminal summons for stealing a package. While Elser was exonerated after providing proof that she wasn't involved, she decided to seek damages, alleging the officer violated her rights and accessed Flock's database without a warrant.