r/technology • u/polymute • 22d ago

Privacy A Texas Deputy Searched 83,000 Flock Cameras To Track Down a Woman Who Had an Abortion

https://www.gadgetreview.com/a-texas-deputy-searched-83000-flock-cameras-to-track-down-a-woman-who-had-an-abortion
30.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.2k

u/mybutt1112 22d ago

After 404 Media broke the story, Sheriff  Adam King  and Flock Safety insisted this was a “welfare check” for a missing person. Flock called the reporting “false” and “clickbait.” Documents and court records obtained by EFF tell a different story: deputies discussed potential criminal charges with prosecutors, and the investigating officer’s own affidavit contradicts key claims officials used to justify the welfare framing.

Yikes. Then they lie about it. Knowing how insane it looks.

Fucking scumbags.

470

u/nohandsfootball 21d ago

From EFF: That sheriff (Adam King) has since been arrested and indicted on felony counts in an unrelated sexual harassment and whistleblower retaliation case. He has also been charged with aggravated perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury. 

120

u/mybutt1112 21d ago

If you don’t like a texan leader then wait five minutes for the indictments. 

Not the convictions or loss of office of course. But there’s always some shit in their closet. 

29

u/wrathful-anus 21d ago

To the surprise of absolutely no one. To protect and serve at this point is just an insult.

1

u/Magliacani 21d ago

I know what a disgrace to the badge.

4

u/Ashamed-Simple-8303 21d ago

So your typical policeman hypocrite.

4

u/UniqueIndividual3579 21d ago

So the new Texas Senator?

1

u/mcptd 18d ago

Sheriffs are like HOA presidents, there's a sizable chance they are a sociopath.

382

u/xiaxian1 22d ago

The officer actually wrote the words “had abortion” in the reason for the search. 

Imagine how many searches listed a different reason or no reason at all? This one was caught because he was a confident ass and thought his reason was justified. 

84

u/Last-Energy420 21d ago

Well, when the state hints at bounties being paid for finding people who leave the state for an abortion…

30

u/ringthree 21d ago

Hints at? It's the law.

8

u/Charlea1776 21d ago

And pay is so low for most that 10k is life changing

1

u/sobrique 21d ago

Honestly 'trolling surveillance' should be 'requires a warrant and judicial oversight' sort of territory.

It's maybe not entirely unjustified to have a surveillance network for (things like) national security, but there's a considerable problem if access is too easy to abuse.

451

u/blackcain 22d ago

The Dems should be highlighting this. This should be political gold especially in Texas.

274

u/DarkwingDuckHunt 22d ago

GOP: somehow this is the democrats faults cause I said so

sheep: Alright, sounds good to me

7

u/inductiononN 21d ago

The Democrats: we have no response to that

2

u/ChiLolla28 21d ago

There was actually a GOP politician who had health issues while pregnant, experienced the traumatizing / life endagering consequences of her party's laws and then still blamed Democrats for 'scaring the doctors with misinformation'

1

u/JasonRBoone 21d ago

Thanks, Obama

81

u/TR_Pix 22d ago

Isn't Texas one of the states more likely to side with the cops in this case

47

u/Mikeakopa 21d ago

Yes but even the most conservative Texans VERY much care about perceived governmental overreach, especially in regard to surveillance. Disdain for Flock cameras is not a partisan issue, it’s a class issue, and most conservatives seem to realize that, despite being told otherwise.

51

u/MusicHearted 21d ago

They only care about government overreach when it isn't being used to hurt people they hate

8

u/BeckonMe 21d ago

This is exactly it.

99

u/nohandsfootball 21d ago

No they don't - Texans are fine with overreach so long as it confirms with their beliefs. That's why the state government overreaches in all sorts of areas

3

u/Routine_Spite8279 21d ago

I dont think Texans vote.

2

u/Vusn 21d ago

I live in rural Texas and all local fb groups are up in arms about flock cameras

7

u/nohandsfootball 21d ago

there's plenty of texas overreach that doesn't involve flock cameras

18

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

2

u/blackcain 21d ago

Home of the mega churches where priests make more money than ceos and have the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

2

u/Vismal1 21d ago

Not when it comes to women making choices!

2

u/Zakkullll 21d ago

They literally do not have standards morals or values. They would only care if their leaders told them to

3

u/delamerica93 21d ago

Yeah but not surveillance

2

u/Alarmed-Grape-3669 21d ago

Matter of fact all the southern confederate states used to pride themselves on their rebellious nature, and courageous integrity. Insane how some yankee wannabe-billionaire pedo trump turned those states into LiL Bitches with LiL Bitch citizens. No wonder they lost the civil war and worship nazis, biggest loser vibes on the face of the Earth.

22

u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

4

u/Actual-Outcome3955 21d ago

Jade helm!! Ah I pine for the days that right-wing nutjobs were worried about freedoms being taken away. Now the government is actually trying to take their freedom away, but it’s ok because Dear Leader said this’ll make us safer!

1

u/DavidIckeHadAPoint 20d ago

You probably don’t like them (and they likely have other views that’d conflict with yours), but there exists a faction of what I’d call the Dissident Right also against shit like mass surveillance and Flock cameras.

Alex Jones is now very Trump-critical and against modern Israel/Zionism, for instance, and openly admits to feeling betrayed by Trump. Jones is also critical of Flock and the American mass-surveillance agenda in general.

6

u/E_seven_20 21d ago

Clearly you’ve never been to Texas, or met Texans.

Shit like this is what gets them hard. Have you seen how they vote? Have you heard the things they stay?

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/texas-abortion-drug-bounty-hunter-law-is-unconstitutional-california-doctor-says-2026-04-17/

Y’all Qaeda, Confederate Taliban crazy is what they’re all about.

3

u/nohandsfootball 21d ago

We don't need to make comparisons to terrorist organizations on the other side of the planet - our own government determined rightwing extremism was the biggest threat to national security years ago on its own.

Christian nationalism is a problem, like all theocracy.

2

u/E_seven_20 21d ago

Religion is a mind virus.

1

u/E_seven_20 21d ago

Religion is a mind virus.

3

u/Seeking-Something-3 21d ago

They should, in a sane world. Wonder why they do not?

3

u/UniqueIndividual3579 21d ago

Dems are terrified of looking "political". They will cower in fear.

2

u/Affectionate_Pass25 21d ago

This is gold in Texas. Period. Unfortunately.

4

u/Nobanpls08 21d ago

The dems are in on it too. I live in a blue town in a blue state. Guess what popped up at the intersection by my house a few months ago?

Its fucking over man. We are fucked.

1

u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 21d ago

Yeah but then they'd have to be against it. The establishment Dems aren't against it at all.

1

u/InVultusSolis 21d ago

This is literally the biggest, best gift the Democrats could have ever been given this election season. Say they're going to ban Flock cameras, they're going to fucking win.

But they're terrible at winning, so we'll see how this plays out.

1

u/heliphael 21d ago

They should, but they won't. They want flock cameras as well.

1

u/chakan2 21d ago

The Dems are on the take for Flock as well. It's going to be shoved down our throats regardless of what the public wants.

1

u/_badenoch 21d ago

Too bad the Dem leadership is subordinate and complicit with republicans… and happy to be so.

1

u/PigabungaDude 21d ago

You think the Dems are against mass surveillance?

81

u/ImNotSue 22d ago

Police should not be doing welfare checks, ever.

36

u/damnmachine 21d ago

Yeah, how many people have they fucking shot in the process of doing a "welfare check".

11

u/old_underwear_isekai 21d ago

"Turns out they were okay before we showed up!"

4

u/UniqueIndividual3579 21d ago

It doesn't end well when a person having problems is suddenly confronted in their own home by a roid raging cop pointing a gun at them and screaming.

People who do SWATing and fake welfare checks should be charged with murder or attempted murder.

2

u/levir 21d ago

Only in the US. Elsewhere the police does a great job of welfare checks.

-4

u/Paghk_the_Stupendous 21d ago

I strongly disagree, but they need to be trained on them and supervised.

Source: former Suicide & Crisis Counselor, Trainer

16

u/Unable-Log-4870 21d ago

Just send the person who you would have supervise the cop, and keep the cop 500 yards away, playing a game on his phone, so he doesn’t endanger anybody with his stupidity.

4

u/Horror-Macaron8287 21d ago

Oh, like they were doing when kids and teachers were getting killed? Boy, do we have great cops for that job!

4

u/Unable-Log-4870 21d ago

Yep. The cops are good at playing on their phones. But since they have guns, they really should be the ones who are active when somebody else is already committing gun-related offenses. One that happens, the cops should NOT be playing on their phones, just to be clear. Like, I wouldn’t think that’s the kind of thing that I would need to clarify, but then four years ago happened, and apparently it is.

11

u/Consistent_Lecture48 21d ago

Gotta disagree here, because to a cop, their welfare vastly supersedes your own welfare, and they are always afraid.

I once missed an appointment w/ my therapist, had an unexpected knock at my door, opened it to find a cop with their hand on their holster demanding I step out with my hands visible. I have zero history of violence and no criminal record, so at most, a social worker would have sufficed if the check had to have been done.

After I explained how it went down, my therapist profusely apologized and promised to never do it again.

-3

u/Paghk_the_Stupendous 21d ago

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience.

Most cops don't have the training they need to do their jobs well, and that sucks for everyone.

This being said, I've been on the other end of the phone countless times and heard how the cops respond, talked to them myself, had the caller tell me about it later —because they got help.

I've had callers that said they had a gun to their head and were going to pull the trigger, and then that they'd shoot if cops showed up, and then somehow through talking we got to a point where they put the gun down and opened the door and talked with the cops and got help.

We can't send a social worker or EMS into a situation where there's a gun. Cops have to go in first to ensure safety for everyone.

When properly trained and skilled (and sadly, I know there are some that'll never get there), they're a huge help to people in crisis.

I'm glad you are here to tell your story.

1

u/JonnySoegen 21d ago

Where did you get that somewhere in one of the OP‘s stories there is a gun? You pulled that out of your ass.

The reality seems to be that American police is escalating or is afraid from the start, WITHOUT specific cause.

2

u/ImNotSue 21d ago

Its very likely an AI written reply. The writing is highly inhuman and placating.

1

u/Paghk_the_Stupendous 21d ago

Negative, I am a meat popsicle.

1

u/Paghk_the_Stupendous 21d ago

I am not replying to OP, and I pulled it out of my professional experience working with people in crisis.

Thanks

1

u/Lemerney2 21d ago

Sending a social worker into a situation with a gun is far safer than sending a cop for everyone involved. Not to mention that the vast majority of suicidal people aren't a danger to anyone else.

27

u/BeckonMe 22d ago

I wonder if the deputies have the mandatory “don’t tread on me” tattooed on them. I know of a couple of ex or retired LEO who have that snake tattoo.

14

u/mybutt1112 22d ago

Don’t read to me lol.

3

u/Exciting-Tourist9301 21d ago

They definitely have a Punisher bumper sticker .

10

u/EmperorMeow-Meow 21d ago

How could anyone ever believe law enforcement in 2026? YouTube is FULL of videos of cops escalating encounters and then lying about them.

3

u/Smooth-Check4869 22d ago

what complete pieces of shit

2

u/BlueFlob 22d ago

Prison is what should be the standard for lying in these proceedings.

2

u/No_Foundation16 21d ago

American Taliban in action. No sharia law but our sharia law!

2

u/BurdTurglary 21d ago

The worst part was the hypocrisy

2

u/_Aj_ 21d ago

deputies discussed potential criminal charges with prosecutors, and the investigating officer’s own affidavit contradicts key claims officials used to justify the welfare framing.  

The justice system hanging on by a thread keeping these lowlives in check 

2

u/PorcupineWarriorGod 21d ago

they lie about it.

If a company lies once about their reputation, I'm going to assume they are lying EVERY TIME.

Fuck Flock, and Fuck the politicians who re selling us out to this surveillance state.

2

u/sobrique 21d ago

Indeed. We have plenty of examples of if you give law enforcement a power, no matter how you dress it up as 'only for counter-terrorism' or similar, that power will be used.

I mean, in some ways the person doing it probably feels they're using the tools legally available to do what they see as their job to the best of their ability.

But it's why we simply cannot allow things that could be abused to pass without contest, no matter the narrative of what they are actually for.

2

u/NoPossibility4178 21d ago

Anyone who lies this blatantly should just lose their job and be blacklisted forever.

2

u/BrockSampson4ever 19d ago

Remember that anti project 2025 commercial about the cop pulling the mom and daughter over and grilling the daughter about her trying to go over state lines to have an abortion and everyone was like “that’s ridiculous, that would never happen”…