Rhode Island police officer Noel Pichardo discovered Flock Safety’s license-plate readers installed across Pawtucket without public notice in late 2023. The system, which tracks vehicle movements using cameras on utility poles, was quietly deployed for a $128,000 two-year contract despite earlier assurances it had been shelved. Pichardo’s questions about the lack of transparency led him to speak to a local reporter, calling the cameras a privacy threat in a Valley Breeze article.
The public criticism triggered five internal affairs investigations into Pichardo within months, ending his five-year law enforcement career. While some officers praised his stance, others labeled him a traitor, and the department’s response escalated from warnings to formal probes. Pichardo’s disciplinary history before the Flock controversy consisted of a single incident—a refusal to wear a face mask at a 2021 musical event.
Pichardo’s case reflects broader unease over Flock’s expanding network, which spans nearly every U.S. state and processes billions of license-plate sightings monthly. The ACLU had previously criticized Pawtucket’s initial 2021 pilot for bypassing public input, and the department later admitted to communication failures. Pichardo’s whistleblowing highlights the tension between routine surveillance tools and the lack of democratic oversight in their deployment.
