Owasso Police investigating 'flagged activities' in Flock camera system

OWASSO, Okla. — An internal investigation is underway at the Owasso Police Department after activity within the department's Flock camera system was flagged.

Flock Safety cameras are a tool used by the Owasso Police Department. Positioned around Owasso, they scan vehicles as they pass.

Owasso Police Captain Nick Boatman shared a statement about the investigation.

"During a routine internal audit of the Owasso Police Department’s Flock Safety System, an auditor flagged activities in the system as potentially suspicious. The flagged activity was recorded under two department employees’ user accounts and a referral was made by the auditor to the Professional Standards Division to determine whether or not a policy violation had occurred by those employees. Those administrative investigations are currently underway, so further comment on this matter would not be prudent at this time."

Boatman wasn't able to say what exactly was flagged or who the employees are.

Seth Edwards, an Owasso resident, recently learned of the investigation. For residents like him, what happens after the investigation matters.

"I certainly believe that police officers should have the tools necessary to find the bad guys and investigate crimes as they typically would. But, with Flock cameras specifically, there is so much invasion of privacy that goes on. They're tracking who's where at what time. They can share that information with other states through a data base," Edwards said.

Edwards said his concerns center on how the system could be misused.

"I think the biggest concerns of mine when it comes to misuse is what are they misusing those for? They're ample examples as I said where we can find how they've been misused, and a lot of it is for personal gain. And have to do with stalking a certain person or maybe looking up information on an ex, or something of that nature," Edwards said.

Edwards said if investigators find the system was misused, he hopes there is accountability and transparency.

For now, what happened within those two accounts and whether department policy was violated remains under investigation.

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