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NEW BEDFORD — Police Chief Jason Thody said the department is looking over Flock data going back to 2024 and undertaking a “detailed examination” of police reports, department communications, investigative bulletins, BOLOs (alerts about a person or vehicle) and emails in order to determine whether misuse by officers occurred.
On the eve of Thursday’s City Council meeting where members will vote on four motions regarding the use of the controversial Flock camera system, Thody issued an emailed update on the department’s review of the system amid its suspension.
The department will look at the vehicles associated with officers’ “family members, friends, acquaintances, or current and former personal relationships” to see whether misuse was happening. It will also look at the frequency of searches by user, whether the reason they entered is consistent with their assignment and daily duties, if they were conducting repeated searches of the same car and plate, and repeated use of a search reason (for example, “traffic infraction” or “motor vehicle theft”).
Thody also said they are using Flock’s new “audit assistance” feature to analyze activity, but noted it only works for data this year.
“Department personnel are conducting a more labor-intensive manual audit of 2024 and 2025 activity,” he wrote. “An anomaly or outlier does not, by itself, establish misconduct. Each identified search must be examined further to determine whether there was a legitimate law-enforcement purpose.”
According to data obtained by The Light, through June of this year there are more than 10,000 lines of data representative of searches run by 35 to 45 officers, depending on the month. For 2025, there are about 14,000 lines of data.
The city withheld columns that include the license plate and car information, so The Light is unable to analyze the frequency of searches by an officer for a given plate or car type.
Thody said he ordered the audit on July 31, which is just days after he attended a public meeting and heard more than a dozen residents (and vocal members of the audience) share their opposition to and concerns with the system.
It’s also days after the department learned about a potentially unauthorized use of the system only after The Light inquired about it. One line of data from January showed an officer wrote “immigration” as the reason for his Flock search. At the meeting, Thody said they determined it was not for immigration purposes.
After that meeting, he told The Light that internal audits conducted by the detectives division and Professional Standards Unit (which undertakes internal affairs investigations) missed it.
“I’m going to address it… they did not pick up on that in that audit and they should’ve,” Thody told The Light last month.
The Washington Post this week reported that some police departments were not conducting oversight of their officers’ use of Flock, and only learned of misuse after reporters who reviewed data and found potentially suspicious activity contacted the agencies with questions.
The Light has a pending records request for audit records from the department. Its Flock policy says “system audits should be conducted on a regular basis.”
Thody said some audits began Aug. 3 that detected anomalies, but that “many of these have already been verified as legitimate law-enforcement uses of the system” while “others require additional review.” When the department announced its suspension of the system last week, it said an undisclosed number of internal investigations were active.
Reports of Flock misuse around the country show officers were claiming false reasons for their searches, such as “warrant check, traffic infraction and welfare check.”
In a case in Georgia last month, internal affairs investigators found an officer used the Flock system dozens of times to track a former romantic partner; he frequently entered “traffic infraction” or “wanted person” for his search reason. When asked why he often selected those categories, records show the patrolman responded it was “just a quick keystroke.”
Flock in December implemented a drop-down menu. Data from New Bedford shows officers’ search reasons went from variable (and sometimes containing typos) to consistent and clean as of January. Thody said this dropdown menu is the reason why an officer entered “immigration.”
“[The officer] conducted this search from a mobile device in the field and selected this with the intention of selecting an ‘administrative’ search,” a department spokesperson said last month. “The fact that ‘administrative’ is included as a part of the immigration dropdown is a concern we will be bringing up with Flock Safety.”
Thody said once he has the “relevant facts,” he will consult with elected officials, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, city attorneys and “other appropriate partners as we evaluate whether and under what conditions the technology should be reinstated.” Sustained violations could result in criminal prosecution, he wrote.
Though the department did not name Officer Emily Pacheco, accused of using Flock to track her ex-girlfriend, the outlining of events regarding an unnamed officer suggests it is about her.
Thody wrote that on July 31, an audit identified activities that raised concern. On Aug. 10, that officer was served with an emergency restraining order (that is the date of Pacheco’s order). He said that an internal investigation for that case is ongoing.
Pacheco testified in court last week that she did run her ex’s plates, but said it was for professional use: a tip from a confidential informant led her to investigate her ex’s new partner, who became a target of a “drug investigation” and was using the ex’s car.
Neither Pacheco nor her attorney would answer the judge’s question as to whether the informant was registered with the department – another important oversight mechanism. The department also would not answer, citing the ongoing investigation.
“The public deserves accountability when Department resources are misused,” Thody wrote this week. “At the same time, every employee who is the subject of an investigation is entitled to a fair and impartial process… Transparency does not require us to prejudge an investigation. It requires us to identify concerns when they arise, take appropriate action, thoroughly investigate the facts, and report those facts to the public when we are able to do so responsibly.”
What we’ve learned on the city’s quiet adoption of Flock in 2024
The city purchased the Flock equipment in November 2024. But calendar records obtained by The Light show a scheduled July 2024 half-hour Zoom meeting between then-Police Chief Paul Oliveira and Flock employee Jesse Lucarini. According to his Linkedin, Lucarini has served as a “territory sales manager” for Flock since 2023.
Days later another half-hour meeting appeared on Oliveira’s calendar with Lucarini. Both meetings were titled “Flock Safety / New Bedford PD.”
Months later in September, another Zoom meeting was on Oliveira’s calendar with Lucarini, titled “Flock Safety / New Bedford PD – Sync.” The following month in October, there was another meeting titled “Flock Safety / New Bedford PD – SOW Call.”
NBPD hasn’t responded to confirm what “SOW” means, but it could be an acronym for “statement of work,” a document that outlines a project’s scope. The Light on Thursday filed a request for records of the statement of work agreement with Flock.
The Light also has a pending records request with the city for 2024 emails between Lucarini and city officials. Lucarini did not respond to emails from The Light.
Another Flock meeting appears in a 2026 calendar for Thody. On Jan. 29, an hour-long “drop in” at headquarters was scheduled, also involving Captain Justin Kagan. The Flock representative listed was Scott Braren. Per his LinkedIn, he has worked for Flock since 2025 and serves as a regional account executive.
In his statement Wednesday, Thody said he has heard from representatives from Flock in recent weeks, in addition to the ACLU and elected officials, “regarding both the public-safety benefits of this technology and concerns about privacy and potential misuse.”
In addition to reviewing the use data, Thody also directed a review of the department’s policies, procedures and “supervisory safeguards” governing its use.
“I intend for this audit to be thorough and capable of identifying any unauthorized use that may have occurred,” Thody said.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
