this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2026
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Brown County Sheriff’s Department in Wisconsin used Flock cameras, which record the license plates of every vehicle that passes by them, to identify and arrest a resident of Wisconsin for purchasing marijuana. Per the report, the cops used Flock’s network of cameras to track the man as he drove from Wisconsin, where possession remains a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense, to Michigan, where recreational weed purchase and possession are legal.

Per the report, the cops looked up his license plate and found that he “travels to Michigan frequently.” Of course, they couldn’t prove by the cameras alone that he was going to Michigan to buy weed. But apparently just going across state lines is enough to create suspicion. In a criminal complaint filed by the police against the man, they call Michigan a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there.”

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[–] chuckleslord@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Why was this man's license plate being tracked for him to be caught? If you can answer that question in a manner that implies the cops had suspicion before they did the license plate tracking then you've got a strong case that this gentleman's 4th amendment rights weren't violated.

But I don't think there's any way they knew to search his car where the first step wasn't "Flock told us he goes to Michigan a lot" which, again, isn't a crime nor is it suspicious. But more importantly, it means that the only justification for the search of the car came from an UNNECESSARY search of all the activities of all drivers in Brown County.

Yes, in public there's no expectation of privacy, but that argument hinges on the idea that cops need to spend resources to follow people's movements when they're suspects in a crime. Recent SCOTUS cases have drawn the line that full sweep movement tracking could violate the fourth.

But the bigger deal here is how they knew where to be and when. They setup a sting because Flock pinged that he'd just crossed the border back from MI. So, based on Flock's evidence that this man travels to MI, they began tracking his whereabouts OUTSIDE OF THEIR JURISDICTION. Reminder that reasonable suspicion of law breaking is required for tracking like that, but, more importantly, so is a warrant.

https://youtu.be/gmnL_Y9CsI0 video on Flock's "legality" especially concerning unwarranted mass surveillance

Absence of evidence may be enough for you

I'm gonna hand you back this part of your argument. Trying to force me to prove a negative is a bad look and screams of desperation. But, if you do want to go down that road, I will remind you that you've never given proof that you're not a pedophile and I find that very suspicious. Only pedophiles don't have proof that they're not pedophiles.