5 ms·

Flock cameras appear to be one of the few things that can get police officers fired.

by tptacek 3mo ago

xnx 3mo ago
Silver lining! The cameras are catching criminals.
- shermantanktop 3mo ago
  To paraphrase Homer: the cause of, and solution to, a problem! In this case police misconduct. It does make me wonder whether electronic evidence of police behavior will materially impact actual behavior over time. But given that the normal reaction is to deny access to evidence, I doubt it. The people who want to be police officers tend not to be the people everyone else would want to be police officers.
  - parineum 3mo ago
    > The people who want to be police officers tend not to be the people everyone else would want to be police officers. It's tiring for good people when everyone they interact with thinks they're the villain.
    - pirates 3mo ago
      It’s tiring for good people when every cop they interact with thinks they’re the villain. The cops are not the good people.
      - 436174 3mo ago
        [dead]
- AtlasBarfed 3mo ago
  [flagged]
- JKCalhoun 3mo ago
  Maybe. I'm cynical enough about how work-organizations function to worry that those at the top will be selective in firing officers found violating policies.
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
edot 3mo ago
Right, because you don’t want to let the little guys mess it up for the big guys: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/fbi-seeks-us-wide-access-to-license-plate-cameras-wants-data-in-near-real-time/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/fbi-seeks-us-wid... Gotta make a statement with the low level grunts so the citizenry think these systems have accountability.
lokar 3mo ago
Until they negotiate protections in their next contract.
- tptacek 3mo ago
  Whatever protections your area police have from these kinds of firings are a matter of public record. Have you FOIA'd your local department to see what they are? You might be surprised. The real teeth behind these disciplinary events, at least in suburban/metro areas, are that departments don't want to lose the cameras, and know that they will if abuses aren't answered.
  - joquarky 3mo ago
    > Have you FOIA'd your local department to see what they are? That's an effective way to get put on a list for harassment, or worse.
    - tptacek 3mo ago
      In most states you can FOIA anonymously, and in every state you can just have someone else FOIA for you. This just reads as an excuse not to do things beyond posting about how a better world isn't possible.
SoftTalker 3mo ago
Not true, but also not widely reported. Cops are fired all the time for a wide variety of reasons.
- topspin 3mo ago
  Correct. They're also rapidly rehired in neighboring jurisdictions. Public sector unions aggressively protect officers ability to migrate to new jurisdictions despite being fired for cause. Typically they end up working at less prestigious operations, and the chronically-fired ones bounce around until they're in the sticks, working as a deputy in a small county. All of these officers will have new jobs lined up by the end of the week.
  - parineum 3mo ago
    You think unions shouldn't be looking out for their members? It's not on the unions, it's on the people who hired the officers.
    - detaro 3mo ago
      even if you purely want to frame it is that: is helping to convince large parts of the public that cops are above the law and can't be trusted by covering for the bad apples "looking out for their members"?
      - parineum 3mo ago
        Yes.
    - topspin 3mo ago
      > It's not on the unions, it's on the people who hired the officers. This model you have inside your head, where there are public officials responsible for hiring that can exercise whatever they imagine are the prerogatives of the public at large when making hiring decisions, is fictional. Public sector unions, for better or worse, have long since obviated such jeopardy and effectively call all shots with regard to who is hired for what.
AtlasBarfed 3mo ago
FOR NOW. People, police states are about two classes of people: the police, and you. What is remarkable about this story is that something happened to them. Now were they prosecuted for any of a hundred laws they probably broke? No.
rasz 3mo ago
Which makes me suspect its because they were looking up their superiors or politicians. With Flock, like cell site data, its trivial to determine who you are sleeping around with.

Flock cameras appear to be one of the few things that can get police officers fired.

by tptacek 3mo ago

Flock cameras appear to be one of the few things that can get police officers fired.

xnx 3mo ago

Silver lining! The cameras are catching criminals.

shermantanktop 3mo ago
To paraphrase Homer: the cause of, and solution to, a problem! In this case police misconduct. It does make me wonder whether electronic evidence of police behavior will materially impact actual behavior over time. But given that the normal reaction is to deny access to evidence, I doubt it. The people who want to be police officers tend not to be the people everyone else would want to be police officers.
- parineum 3mo ago
  > The people who want to be police officers tend not to be the people everyone else would want to be police officers. It's tiring for good people when everyone they interact with thinks they're the villain.
  - pirates 3mo ago
    It’s tiring for good people when every cop they interact with thinks they’re the villain. The cops are not the good people.
    - 436174 3mo ago
      [dead]
AtlasBarfed 3mo ago
[flagged]
JKCalhoun 3mo ago
Maybe. I'm cynical enough about how work-organizations function to worry that those at the top will be selective in firing officers found violating policies.

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

edot 3mo ago

Right, because you don’t want to let the little guys mess it up for the big guys: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/fbi-seeks-us-wide-access-to-license-plate-cameras-wants-data-in-near-real-time/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/fbi-seeks-us-wid... Gotta make a statement with the low level grunts so the citizenry think these systems have accountability.

lokar 3mo ago

Until they negotiate protections in their next contract.

tptacek 3mo ago
Whatever protections your area police have from these kinds of firings are a matter of public record. Have you FOIA'd your local department to see what they are? You might be surprised. The real teeth behind these disciplinary events, at least in suburban/metro areas, are that departments don't want to lose the cameras, and know that they will if abuses aren't answered.
- joquarky 3mo ago
  > Have you FOIA'd your local department to see what they are? That's an effective way to get put on a list for harassment, or worse.
  - tptacek 3mo ago
    In most states you can FOIA anonymously, and in every state you can just have someone else FOIA for you. This just reads as an excuse not to do things beyond posting about how a better world isn't possible.

SoftTalker 3mo ago

Not true, but also not widely reported. Cops are fired all the time for a wide variety of reasons.

topspin 3mo ago
Correct. They're also rapidly rehired in neighboring jurisdictions. Public sector unions aggressively protect officers ability to migrate to new jurisdictions despite being fired for cause. Typically they end up working at less prestigious operations, and the chronically-fired ones bounce around until they're in the sticks, working as a deputy in a small county. All of these officers will have new jobs lined up by the end of the week.
- parineum 3mo ago
  You think unions shouldn't be looking out for their members? It's not on the unions, it's on the people who hired the officers.
  - detaro 3mo ago
    even if you purely want to frame it is that: is helping to convince large parts of the public that cops are above the law and can't be trusted by covering for the bad apples "looking out for their members"?
    - parineum 3mo ago
      Yes.
  - topspin 3mo ago
    > It's not on the unions, it's on the people who hired the officers. This model you have inside your head, where there are public officials responsible for hiring that can exercise whatever they imagine are the prerogatives of the public at large when making hiring decisions, is fictional. Public sector unions, for better or worse, have long since obviated such jeopardy and effectively call all shots with regard to who is hired for what.

AtlasBarfed 3mo ago

FOR NOW. People, police states are about two classes of people: the police, and you. What is remarkable about this story is that something happened to them. Now were they prosecuted for any of a hundred laws they probably broke? No.

rasz 3mo ago

Which makes me suspect its because they were looking up their superiors or politicians. With Flock, like cell site data, its trivial to determine who you are sleeping around with.