Kingsville Detective Resigns After Internal Investigation Into Thousands of Flock Camera Searches

By Menda Eulenfeld, STCN

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS - The growing use of automated license plate reader cameras across the United States is raising questions about privacy, civil rights and the potential for increased government surveillance after a Kingsville Police Department detective resigned following an internal investigation into thousands of searches conducted through the department's Flock camera system.

Detective Gabriel Garcia resigned from the Kingsville Police Department on July 31, 2026, the same day his supervisor confronted him about the number of searches he had conducted through the department's Flock automated license plate reader system.

Flock Group Inc. is a privately held U.S. company that provides surveillance technology, including automated license plate recognition (ALPR), video surveillance, gunfire detection systems and software used to collect, manage and analyze data generated by these technologies.

According to KRIS TV-6 who obtained departmental records, Garcia conducted 5,283 searches through the Flock system between January and July 2026.

His supervisor confronted Garcia regarding approximately 5,300 searches, records show.

Nearly 99% of Garcia's searches listed "City Planning/Traffic Analysis" as the reason for the inquiry, according to audit records from the system.

The records also show repeated searches of individual license plates. One plate was searched 609 times, while another was searched 394 times and a third was searched 187 times.

The internal investigation determined that Garcia violated a Kingsville Police Department policy governing the use of automated license plate readers.

Garcia had served with the department for more than four years before submitting his resignation.

The case has renewed broader questions surrounding the expanding use of Flock automated license plate readers by law enforcement agencies and whether the technology can be used in ways that affect residents' privacy and civil liberties.

Automated license plate reader systems can capture vehicle license plates and other information as vehicles pass cameras installed throughout communities. Law enforcement agencies can then use the systems to search historical records for investigative purposes, subject to agency policies and other restrictions.

The Kingsville investigation highlights the importance of policies governing who can access the systems, the reasons searches are conducted and how agencies audit their use.

While the technology is promoted as a tool to assist law enforcement investigations and identify vehicles connected to crimes, privacy advocates and some members of the public have questioned how much information can be collected about people's movements and how long that information is retained.

In Garcia's case, the department's internal investigation focused on whether his use of the system complied with department policy.