San Diego police officials are facing a lawsuit after a man spent a month in jail despite traffic‑camera data that put him several miles from the crime scene.
In November, Hugo Parra was arrested on felony charges for an attempted carjacking after officers combined a Flock camera alert with a witness statement to identify a suspect in a red Alfa Romeo with tinted windows and a gray hoodie. Parra, who wore a white hoodie and was riding in a friend’s car that loosely matched the description, was linked to the case without any license‑plate information. The camera’s timestamp, however, showed he was roughly five miles away when the robbery occurred.
Parra’s attorney, Alex Coolman, argues the department ignored the timestamp and could have used both the camera data and Parra’s cellphone location to corroborate his alibi. The suit alleges mishandling of surveillance evidence and raises broader concerns about police reliance on such technology without proper verification.
