Joan Esposito is joined by Autumn Billings, assistant editor at Reason. Billings has written recently about Flock cameras, including the article "The Shaky Evidence That Flock Cameras Reduce Crime Rates." On September 2 Reason published the article "Wisconsin Cops Used Flock Over 100 Times To Track a Navy Veteran After He Lawfully Recorded a Traffic Stop," which was the main subject of the interview. 

The discussion examined alleged retaliatory use of Flock license-plate-reader data against Wisconsin resident Napoleon Jones after he recorded a traffic stop and filed a civil complaint. Here are a few key points:
- Police reportedly queried data on Jones’s white BMW hundreds of times over five to six weeks after his complaint.
- The searches were described as authorized by a supervisor and labeled only “investigation,” with unclear justification.
- Jones amended his lawsuit to include alleged retaliation for exercising First Amendment rights.
- Billings said oversight of Flock use is limited, and vendor safeguards can be undermined when police departments regulate themselves.
- Some communities have canceled Flock contracts, but alternatives such as Axon and Motorola Solutions raise similar data-privacy concerns.

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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