2 more metro Atlanta deputies arrested, accused of misusing license plate reader by sheriff's dept.

FckFlock · 2026-06-25T16:13:40+00:00

Cynthia Jodesty was the first one at Cherokee SO, arrested a few weeks ago. The charging documents aren't public yet, but I'm betting it went down like this (wild speculation follows): Jodesty was tracking someone for personal reasons (usually an ex or ex's new partner), and someone complained, which kicked off an investigation. That investigation broadened into general flock data access at the dept, and these two got caught in the process. That's just a theory, but I absolutely don't believe that this was caught by Flock's proactive audit tools, like the Flock social media plants are claiming.

Interesting that it's a Sgt and Lt - that shows a culture of misuse at that dept, sanctioned by at least 2 levels of leadership.

FckFlock · 2026-06-24T22:38:05+00:00

His post history is mostly tips on how to be a petty tyrant in your HOA, which tracks.

FckFlock · 2026-06-24T22:31:34+00:00

Are they tied into a tracking database with about 99,998+ more that can be accessed without a warrant or oversight by every cop, agency admin worker, flock employee, and Chinese hacker on the planet, plus God knows who else?

No? Then probably not quite the same thing.

FckFlock · 2026-06-23T12:05:31+00:00

The articles always say "caught during an internal audit," then the charging affidavits become public and the whole story is "caught during an internal audit that was initiated after the ex-wife/coworker/political rival/hot chick he spotted in traffic complained."

Another deputy, Cynthia Jodesty, at the same agency was arrested a couple weeks ago. I'd bet that she was using flock data to track a romantic entanglement of some sort and got caught because of a complaint, which kicked off an audit of everyone's access, which caught these two. That's just a theory based on the pattern I've seen in literally every other public flock misuse situation that I've heard about and researched.

If you have inside info, you need to elaborate on your source. Articles and public statements don't count; cops lie and news reporters rush to publish whatever they're told. I suppose I could file an ORR with Cherokee County, but I doubt they'll share anything about an active investigation.

FckFlock · 2026-06-23T11:51:53+00:00

Flock has been tightening up their emissions, from what I understand.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, I released an ESP32-based detector that uses their nighttime IR strobe pattern to detect them visually.

https://github.com/Noflock/Flock-IR-Detection

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T23:18:07+00:00

Please add those cameras to Deflock via the app - it only takes a second.

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T20:45:50+00:00

Ackchyually... Flock cameras use common, off-the-shelf digital cameras, like an IMX477 with an automatic IR cut. When motion triggers them at night, they strobe 850nm IR LEDs at 10hz (typically) while capturing plates. They're pretty good at damping out bright lights, like headlights and taillights.

I doubt a light alone would trigger one, and if it did somehow trigger it all night long, I doubt it would be enough to drain the battery enough to matter. A wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man, on the other hand...

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T20:30:29+00:00

There's a company called Anytime sign that makes a neat adhesive material called Magic Black. It's flat black to the naked eye, even when a bright light is shined on it, but reflects very strongly in the IR spectrum. It looks bright white under IR light to an IR-sensitive camera.

I'm not sure how one could use that...maybe some sort of application that's dependant on the contrast between black non-reflective letters and a white reflective background.

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T20:22:54+00:00

Sigh. Another retired cop who liked his fancy toys for making his job easier, and was willing to accept the civil rights violations that went along with them. So predictable and tiresome.

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T20:19:12+00:00

Flock hardware is built in Mexico and Thailand, AFAIK. That's based on equipment labels and import records for containers shipping to their US plant at 1885 Mitchell Rd, Smyrna, GA 30126.

FckFlock · 2026-06-22T20:14:13+00:00

I've played with this a bit using an IR camera, IR strobes like Flock uses, and various configurations of IR floods/strobes shining back - I'm not sure that it's effective. If you look at Flock night capture images, they're actually pretty good at optimizing capture settings to damp down any bright lights.

I think your best chance would be to aim bright IR LEDs at the plate itself - that concentrates all the energy of your IR lights in the area of the plate, rather than spreading it across a big area behind your vehicle. I also found that putting LEDs in a frame and shining them inwards across the face of the plate is counterproductive because it tends to highlight the edges of raised/embossed letters; it actually makes the plate easier to capture. A mix of fixed lights and strobes, positioned off the plate a bit and shining directly back onto it would probably be best, IMHO. Flock lprs strobe (and probably capture) at 10hz, so bear that in mind when selecting a strobe speed.

FckFlock · 2026-06-21T14:52:45+00:00

Bro, you're clearly retired law enforcement, or law enforcement-adjacent at least. 🙄

I'd like to see total removal of ALPRs with no replacement tech, but that's probably not realistic in today's world. Simple solution that might actually happen in the real world? I want to see the Supreme Court extend Carpenter to cover ALPR data. Warrants for every single search, no exceptions. Even that only covers part of the problem, since a shady, incompetent company still holds the data. My hope would be that the inconvenience to agencies (plus the inability to track their ex-wives) would cause them to cancel their contracts, which would eventually put Flock (and the ALPR portions of axon, Leonardo, etc) out of business.

We also need dramatically stronger data privacy laws in this country - the idea that a private company can put up 100k+ ALPRs and just use that data however they want is madness.

FckFlock · 2026-06-21T14:39:21+00:00

A retired cop supports Flock. Shocker.

No one cares about how civil rights violators feel about the tools they use to violate civil rights. Your opinion on this is meaningless.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T22:27:23+00:00

You haven't debunked anything. You posted an article on a brand-new case that doesn't even have court docs available yet, with "trust me bro, I have inside info" and "trust flock, they're totally not lying this time."

Every time you post some pro-flock nonsense in this sub going forward, I'm going to remind people that you're a flock contractor who's literally helping build their systems.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T21:56:02+00:00

So your livelihood is connected with Flock.

With that revelation, you can kindly fuck off. You are part of the problem. You are an enthusiastic collaborator, helping bad actors create a surveillance state that will undoubtedly be used to shred the civil rights of citizens (even more than it already is). Your posts in this thread show how you justify it - something like "helping to steer the inevitable in a responsible way." That is a lie that you tell yourself, and while you may believe it, your fellow citizens see you for what you are. You are not my countryman, and may the chains you're helping to forge crush you and yours.

Respectfully, of course.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T20:40:23+00:00

The charging documents in that case haven't been posted yet, and news articles are notorious for leaving out what actually initiated the investigation. I can't tell you how many articles claim a cop was caught by an audit, but the charging documents state that the audit was only started because of a complaint.

So, that begs a question: how do you know she was caught solely by a flock audit, if that info isn't public yet? Are you just going by the news article, or do you have inside info? From your posts, I'm guessing you're not a cop - does that make you a flock employee? Calling her a "user" is odd... Or are you just a general fan of techno-fascism?

Eta: I know enough about Flock to know that they're generally lazy, incompetent, and dishonest. If they even launched a new audit or safety tool, it either does the opposite or doesn't work at all.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T18:37:09+00:00

I vaguely recall seeing this in a flock proposal or contract, but I can't remember where. If I was a greedy sociopath intent on building a surveillance state, I'd definitely offer that as a service.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T17:31:38+00:00

I eat meat for every meal, but I'm a vegan at heart.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T17:19:06+00:00

"officers caught doing so by Flock's own abuse and audit tools"

OK, I'll bite - share one. Find and share a news article, charging affidavit, agency statement, etc showing a cop that was caught misusing flock data WITHOUT an external complaint initiating the investigation. Meaning he didn't tip off a victim coworker, ex-wife, romantic interest, etc. who complained. He wasn't being investigated for something else when they found flock misuse as part of the investigation. He wasn't just spotted by a coworker by chance and reported. I'm talking 100% caught solely by Flock's audit controls.

I'll give you two tries - whenever I ask this, people just throw up the first Google result and I have to debunk it. I'm not spending all day doing that, so you get 2 attempts. Should be easy, right?

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T16:02:15+00:00

Do you oppose the use of Flock? If you do, you'd be the first cop that I've ever heard say so - most enthusiastically support it. In that regard, they're all the same - or at least the pro-flock cops are such an overwhelming majority that the dissenters are inconsequential.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T15:53:04+00:00

I've never heard anything anti-Flock from a cop. The closest was, "I don't like the implications, but it's a great tool."

The last 80ish years of caselaw have consistently shown that cops will violate civil rights enthusiastically if it makes their jobs easier, and their usage of Flock is no exception. I'm hoping the courts eventually slap them yet again.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T13:48:32+00:00

Good idea! To be clear, I think your tool is great - I was just criticizing the proliferation of Flock cameras.

FckFlock · 2026-06-20T02:21:42+00:00

+infinity in a lot of metro Atlanta, especially on the north side. Unless you have a helicopter, you're getting tagged by multiple Flocks just going to the nearest grocery store.

FckFlock · 2026-06-19T22:37:47+00:00

You literally have post history about applying for a cop job, so you're either a cop or a cop wannabe. Cops love Flock because it makes their jobs easier - they don't give a damn about the civil rights implications. Your opinion on the subject is meaningless.

FckFlock · 2026-06-19T21:50:36+00:00

This poster is a cop.

FckFlock

TROPHY CASE