Woman Pulled Over at Gunpoint Twice in a Week After Flock License Plate System Error

A Milwaukee woman was twice detained at gunpoint within days due to a glitch in Flock's automated license plate recognition system. On Thursday, police surrounded her car, drew their weapons, and ordered her out with her hands up, believing she was a murder suspect. It later turned out the alert was false, triggered by a mistaken request from another agency.

The woman said she wanted to call her mother at that moment but feared making any sudden move. "If I moved, it would be over. It would cost me my life," she recalled. The situation repeated on Monday: officers again stopped her with guns drawn. She was never told why she was being held, her car was towed, and she was eventually released.

The African American woman says she is now traumatized and afraid to drive. Her daughter also fears riding in the car, unsure whether police will pull them over again. "I haven't slept since it happened. Every time I close my eyes, I see guns," she said.

She is demanding an apology, but local police say the fault lies with Milwaukee officers who failed to remove the outdated alert from Flock's system. Milwaukee police, in turn, stressed the issue was not with Flock cameras but a data entry mistake. The woman disagrees: "You failed the system. You failed me. You failed everyone."

The incident raises concerns about the reliability of automated surveillance systems and the consequences of their failures for ordinary people. A database error led to two traumatic detentions, and it remains unclear what steps will be taken to prevent such situations from recurring.