Chandler Stopped Using 40 Flock Cameras After an Officer Searched for a Relative. The City Closed the Investigation When He Resigned.

Chandler police caught the problem themselves. In August the department investigated what it called an anomaly in its Flock camera system, traced it to one officer's account, and the officer admitted using the system to look for a family member. He resigned before a formal investigation finished, and because he resigned, the department closed its investigation into the Flock system.

That decision is the part still without a public answer: how many searches the audit trail showed, and whether anyone has reviewed the rest of the log.

The department announced the resignation on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. According to AZFamily's report, Chandler police said investigators verified the activity was linked to the officer's family member, not a member of the public. The officer was placed on administrative leave and resigned before the formal investigation was completed. The report does not say how many searches were run or whether criminal charges were considered.

Fox 10 reported that Chandler ended its Flock contract and stopped using 40 cameras, and that at the council meeting that day the city manager said no employees currently have access to them. Chandler is described as open to a new vendor if stronger safeguards are in place.

Flock Safety announced changes the same Thursday: default data retention cut from 30 days to seven, case numbers required for searches, and an automatic lockout for users flagged for suspicious activity. Flock's chief executive, Garrett Langley, was quoted saying, "Not every officer has followed either a policy or standard that we think is good enough."

Chandler was not alone. Pinal County ended its program in August. Goodyear and Surprise said they were investigating possible misuse, and Apache Junction announced that one of its officers resigned.

Tempe's council voted 6 to 1 in mid-October to ban automated license plate readers for city agencies, effective in mid-November, after announcing in August that it was removing its Flock cameras. Tempe's ordinance has exceptions, including data supplied by other cities for some investigations, which the ACLU of Arizona has called too vague.

We have written to Chandler with the questions a records request would answer: how many searches the audit trail showed for the officer's account, what period it covered, whether any other account was flagged, why the Flock investigation closed on his resignation, and whether Chandler has looked at the full log since. Chandler has not yet answered. Chandler deserves credit for finding this on its own and acting within days; the open question is what the review covered.

How we reported this: details of the resignation, the camera count and Flock's changes come from AZFamily and Fox 10 reports of Aug. 13 and a Fox 10 follow-up; Tempe's vote is from the Arizona State Press. We have not seen Chandler's records, the audit log or the officer's personnel file, and we are not naming the officer, who has not been charged in anything we have seen. We are looking for the audit log summary, the closing memo on the Flock investigation and the end of the contract. We sent questions to the Chandler Police Department's city liaison on Oct. 27; no reply had arrived at publication, and any answer will be added with a dated update. Tips and corrections: [email protected].