{"data":[{"agencies":"Jackson County Sheriff's Office","category":"Personal use of the system","county":"Jackson County","date_first_reported":"2026-08-31","documented_searches":2055,"headline":"Jackson County deputy charged after running one plate 2,055 times","how_it_was_discovered":"A routine internal audit by the sheriff's office itself","id":"jackson-county-2055-searches","outcome":"An arrest warrant was issued August 31, 2026 on charges of official misconduct, a low-level felony, and fraud, a misdemeanor. Jackson County Prosecutor Lynsey Fleetwood cited a \u201cno-tolerance policy for cases where public trust is violated.\u201d Thompson is no longer employed by the sheriff's office. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.","period_of_conduct":"December 31, 2025 \u2013 August 2, 2026","sources":"WRTV Indianapolis: Ex-deputy accused of searching for same license plate 2,055 times on Flock (https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/ex-deputy-accused-of-searching-for-same-license-plate-2-055-times-on-flock) | WISH-TV: Ex-deputy accused of searching for same license plate 2,055 times on Flock (https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/ex-deputy-accused-of-searching-for-same-license-plate-2055-times-on-flock/) | FOX59: Jackson County deputy allegedly used Flock cameras to search same license plate 2,055 times (https://fox59.com/news/jackson-county-deputy-allegedly-used-flock-cameras-to-search-same-license-plate-2055-times/) | The Republic (Columbus, Ind.): Ex-Jackson County Sheriff's deputy charged for alleged misuse of FLOCK cameras (https://www.therepublic.com/2026/08/31/ex-jackson-county-sheriffs-deputy-charged-for-alleged-misuse-of-flock-cameras/)","status":"Criminal charges filed","summary":"Prosecutors allege that former Jackson County deputy Skylar Thompson searched the same license plate 2,055 times over roughly seven months. On each search he entered \u201cCity Planning/Traffic Analysis\u201d as his justification \u2014 an assignment the sheriff's office says he never had. A routine internal audit flagged the pattern, and the office referred the matter to the Indiana State Police."},{"agencies":"Porter County Sheriff's Office","category":"Personal use of the system","county":"Porter County","date_first_reported":"2026-08-28","documented_searches":"","headline":"Porter County sheriff's lieutenant demoted for running a citizen's plate","how_it_was_discovered":"A complaint from the citizen whose plate was searched","id":"porter-county-lieutenant","outcome":"The lieutenant was demoted, suspended without pay, permanently barred from Flock access, and ordered into ethics training. The sheriff's office has since required a case number and a stated reason for every Flock search.","period_of_conduct":"Not specified in local reporting","sources":"The Times of Northwest Indiana: Porter County cop disciplined over misuse of Flock license plate search (paywalled) (https://nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_8157152c-8129-49b1-a925-931f67ba5fb2.html) | WIMS Radio, publishing the Porter County Sheriff's Office statement: Porter County Sheriff's Police officer disciplined for departmental Flock LPR policy violation (https://wimsradio.com/2026/08/28/porter-county-sheriffs-police-officer-disciplined-for-departmental-flock-lpr-policy-violation/)","status":"Discipline imposed","summary":"A Porter County Sheriff's lieutenant ran a citizen's plate through Flock \u201cfor a reason that was not consistent with PCSO policy,\u201d according to Sheriff Jeff Balon. It surfaced only because the citizen found out and complained, which prompted an internal affairs investigation that confirmed the unauthorized searches. The Times of Northwest Indiana reported a man's claim that the searches were tied to an affair."},{"agencies":"Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department","category":"Personal use of the system","county":"Marion County","date_first_reported":"2026-08-13","documented_searches":3759,"headline":"IMPD officer ran plates tied to his wife and two acquaintances 3,759 times","how_it_was_discovered":"Washington Post reporters, who brought it to IMPD","id":"impd-3759-searches","outcome":"IMPD suspended the officer without pay, stripped his police powers, and referred the matter to the Marion County Prosecutor. On August 13, 2026, Chief Tanya Terry called the conduct intentional misconduct and recommended termination. He has not been publicly named because he has not been charged.","period_of_conduct":"Roughly ten months ending August 2026","sources":"WISH-TV I-Team: Chief recommends firing IMPD officer who misused license plate readers (https://www.wishtv.com/news/i-team/chief-recommends-firing-impd-officer-who-misused-license-plate-readers/) | The Washington Post (via The Spokesman-Review): Police departments weren't looking for officers abusing Flock. We did it for them. (https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/aug/19/police-departments-werent-looking-for-officers-abu/) | WRTV Indianapolis: Chief recommends firing IMPD officer who misused license plate readers (https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/chief-recommends-firing-impd-officer-who-misused-license-plate-readers)","status":"Suspended, termination recommended, referred for prosecution","summary":"An IMPD East District officer used department Flock access to track a small set of plates unconnected to any investigation \u2014 reported to be his wife and two close personal acquaintances \u2014 roughly 3,759 times over ten months, about twelve searches a day, according to a Washington Post analysis of audit records. IMPD did not catch it. Post reporters brought it to the department on August 6, 2026."},{"agencies":"North Manchester Police Department; Wabash County Sheriff's Office","category":"Searches of a critic or protected activity","county":"Wabash County","date_first_reported":"2026-08-10","documented_searches":63,"headline":"A town council critic's plate was searched 63 times by police and deputies","how_it_was_discovered":"Sklar himself, who requested the search records for his own plate","id":"north-manchester-critic","outcome":"Confronted on camera, Miller said \u201cyou're going to have to talk to somebody else about that.\u201d The Wabash County Sheriff's Office said all searches were \u201cfor a legitimate law enforcement purpose \u2014 to ensure officer safety during traffic stops.\u201d No discipline has been reported, and Sklar has never been charged with a crime.","period_of_conduct":"December 2024 \u2013 December 2025","sources":"InvestigateTV (Gray Media): Flock alters system tracking transparency while shadow of alleged misuse cases expands (https://www.investigatetv.com/2026/08/10/flock-alters-system-tracking-transparency-while-shadow-alleged-misuse-cases-expands/)","status":"No discipline reported; agencies defend the searches","summary":"Bob Sklar is a North Manchester resident who regularly criticizes the town council and records police. After noticing a Flock camera, he sought the search records for his own plate and found 63 searches logged by North Manchester police and the Wabash County Sheriff's Office over roughly a year. The logged justifications included his own last name, \u201cPATROL,\u201d and \u201cLocate\u201d \u2014 the last used repeatedly by North Manchester Officer Griffen Miller."}],"metadata":{"contact":"info@eyesoffindiana.org","description":"Every publicly documented case in which an Indiana law enforcement agency, an Indiana-owned camera network, or Indiana-collected plate data was used outside the purpose the public was told it served. Each row carries the agency, county, date, category, disposition, and at least one named public source.","license":"ODbL (camera locations \u00a9 OpenStreetMap contributors); analysis CC BY 4.0 Eyes Off Indiana","publisher":"Eyes Off Indiana","suggested_citation":"Eyes Off Indiana, \"Documented ALPR Misuse and Abuse Involving Indiana,\" Eyes Off Indiana, updated September 01, 2026, https://eyesoffindiana.org/datasets.","terms":"Free to download, republish, and analyze with attribution. Do not hotlink this endpoint as a live data API for another site or application; download and host a copy, or contact info@eyesoffindiana.org for automated access.","title":"Documented ALPR Misuse and Abuse Involving Indiana","updated":"2026-09-01T00:53:17.473905+00:00","url":"https://eyesoffindiana.org/datasets"}}