Flock Safety says the ruling "goes against the overwhelming weight of authority" and that it expects the ruling to be "appealed and ultimately overturned"
Flock SafetyCompany spokesperson, in a statement to 404 Media that the outlet added to its October 2, 2026 article
In a statement to 404 Media, a Flock Safety spokesperson said Flock was not a party to the case. The company said the ruling goes against the weight of authority in similar cases, including recent Oklahoma decisions, and that it expects an appeal and a reversal. It also said the ruling is limited to the specific facts of the case, sets no controlling precedent and does not affect law enforcement agencies' continued use of plate-reader technology.
Responding to
Flock Safety said the ruling goes against the overwhelming weight of authority in similar cases, including multiple recent Oklahoma decisions, and that it expects the ruling to be appealed and overturned. It also said the ruling is limited to the specific facts of the case, sets no controlling precedent and does not affect law enforcement agencies' continued use of plate-reader technology.
“Flock was not a party to this case. The ruling goes against the overwhelming weight of authority in similar cases across the country, including multiple recent decisions in Oklahoma, and we expect it will be appealed and ultimately overturned. This ruling is limited to the specific facts of this case. It does not set controlling precedent and does not affect law enforcement agencies’ continued use of these important public safety technologies.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did a deputy's warrantless query of Flock license-plate data violate the Fourth Amendment, as a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled?
On October 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill of the Northern District of Oklahoma held in United States v. Kyle that a Tulsa County deputy's warrantless query of the Flock and VehicleManager license-plate-reader databases was a search that violated the Fourth Amendment. The deputy, Freddie Alaniz, ran the query on a Mazda with a California plate in May 2026 and got more than 50 records of its location over about a month across several states. He reviewed that history while questioning the driver, Melisa Kyle. Judge Hill gave two independent grounds for suppression: the query, which led her to suppress all evidence obtained after it began, and Alaniz's extension of the traffic stop without reasonable suspicion. The U.S. Attorney's Office had argued that plates on public roads are in plain view and carry no Fourth Amendment privacy interest. Flock Safety says the ruling goes against the weight of authority, is limited to its facts and expects it to be overturned on appeal. The opinion is one district court's decision in a criminal case. Kyle is charged, and no court has decided whether she committed the offense. As of October 4, 2026, the docket shows no notice of appeal.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
404 Media's report on the ruling, based on the opinion. It quotes the opinion at length, quotes Michael Soyfer of the Institute for Justice, and was updated with a statement from a Flock spokesperson. It says the decision will not set a binding precedent and that other cases are considering warrantless plate-reader searches.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
404 Media published its report on October 2, 2026 and then updated it with the company's comment. In an interview The Drive published on July 29, 2026, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said that, in the company's belief, "the courts have deemed this is not a warrantless search."
After the quotation
Judge Hill's opinion lists three Oklahoma federal decisions that reached the opposite conclusion on whether plate-reader use is a search. As of October 4, 2026, the docket shows no notice of appeal.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that the warrantless query was a search that violated the Fourth Amendment. Flock contests the holding and predicts reversal on the ground that existing authority points the other way, which defends the lawfulness of such searches, so we used Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Minimizes, because the statement also says the ruling is limited to its facts and does not change police use. It loses because the first half disputes the holding itself, which goes beyond downplaying its reach.
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More from this case
Read the full caseLaw professor Matthew Tokson calls the opinion "A major ruling" that applies Chatrie to extensive camera networks
“A federal district judge just declared that Flock camera systems violate the Fourth Amendment! Applying Chatrie, the court concludes that extensive camera networks engage in unlawful "indiscriminate mass surveillance." A major ruling.”Read statement
Institute for Justice lawyer Michael Soyfer calls the opinion "extremely important" and says earlier courts were "way too myopic"
Institute for Justice
“The opinion is pretty amazing. It recognizes one thing that courts ignore which is the sheer breadth of these systems, that they collect so much information about so many people in a way that sets them apart. This decision ascribes appropriate weight to the fact police are building out this massive database that can reveal incredibly intimate details of people’s lives … It’s extremely important. The way courts have resolved these cases previously has been way too myopic and has ignored the depths of these systems and the sweeping modes of surveillance that allow police to reconstruct the movements of anyone in the country.”Read statement
The district court holds the deputy's plate-reader query "was a search under the Fourth Amendment" done "without a warrant"
United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
“This is a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance. It is not targeted on a single individual, as in Carpenter. It is a tool that collects information about all vehicles that pass by any network-connected camera at all times, and it serves up the information to law enforcement on demand. … The Court finds that because the ALPR systems Alaniz used to search Kyle’s historical location information intruded on her reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of her physical movements, it was a search under the Fourth Amendment. Based on the information in the record, the only reason Alaniz conducted that search was because he saw her license plate was from California. That search was not supported by probable cause, and it was done without a warrant in violation of Kyle’s Fourth Amendment rights.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Flock Safety says the ruling "goes against the overwhelming weight of authority" and that it expects the ruling to be "appealed and ultimately overturned"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4533-in-a-statement-to-404-media-a-flock
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Flock Safety says the ruling "goes against the overwhelming weight of authority" and that it expects the ruling to be "appealed and ultimately overturned"". First published: 2026-10-04. Last updated: 2026-10-04. https://disputeindex.com/events/4533-in-a-statement-to-404-media-a-flock