A Texas Deputy Searched 83,000 Flock Cameras To Track Down a Woman Who Had an Abortion

On May 9, 2025, a deputy with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Texas queried Flock Safety’s nationwide license plate reader network. The reason entered into the search log, according to documents obtained by 404 Media: “had an abortion, search for female.” That single query swept across 83,000 cameras in 6,809 law enforcement networks — including cameras in Washington and Illinois, states where abortion is legal and protected. A small-county Texas deputy, hunting for a woman suspected of self-administering an abortion, had just searched a surveillance apparatus stretching from Spokane to Springfield. No warrant was required for the search.