Former Kenosha deputy charged with misusing Flock license plate reader
A former Kenosha County Sheriff's deputy was charged with two felony counts of misconduct for misusing the Flock license plate reader system and related tracking technology to surveil a fellow deputy without authorization between July and October 2025. The misuse was discovered during an internal audit, and the department subsequently implemented stronger oversight controls including mandatory case documentation and expanded auditing authority.
What happened
Frank McGrath, a former Kenosha County Sheriff's deputy, was charged with two felony counts of misconduct in public office for misusing the Flock license plate reader system between July and October 2025.
McGrath used Flock to search for a fellow deputy's vehicle approximately 17 times without authorization, and used Polaris technology to track her location approximately 40 times. On one occasion, he tracked her location and forced a trainee deputy to confront her, and on another occasion he contacted her while off-duty to state her exact location and name the coworker beside her, telling her 'I know everything.'
The misuse was discovered in October 2025 during an internal audit of the system's activity. McGrath had logged each search as 'suspicious' and did not provide corresponding case numbers. He resigned during the investigation after acknowledging in text messages that he had lied about his Flock use.
Reported impact
The targeted deputy was subjected to unauthorized surveillance and confrontation based on location data obtained through misuse of law enforcement tracking systems.
Index analysis
The incident reveals vulnerabilities in access controls and audit mechanisms for automated license plate reader systems. McGrath's ability to conduct multiple unauthorized searches by misclassifying them as 'suspicious' and avoiding case number requirements suggests insufficient oversight.
The case is part of mounting criticism against authorities' use of Flock technology, with multiple Wisconsin law enforcement officers facing similar charges for system misuse.
Governance controls
Following the incident, the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office implemented additional accountability measures including expanding auditing authority so any sworn supervisor may audit Flock activity, requiring personnel to document a legitimate law-enforcement reason and case number before conducting searches, reducing data retention from 30 days to 7 days, and requiring all sworn personnel to complete remedial Flock Academy training.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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