AI incident ·
Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Reportedly Misread Plate Digit, Prompting Gunpoint Stop of Two Sisters in Española, New Mexico
On this page 8 sections
In brief
An AI system built by Surveillance technology developers, Flock Safety and 1 other and deployed by Law enforcement and Española Police Department (New Mexico) allegedly harmed Women and girls, Women and 8 others.
- Risk domain
- Not classified
- Occurred
- Coverage
- 1 report
What happened
In July 2023, Española police stopped Jaclynn Gonzales and her 12-year-old sister after a Flock Safety license-plate reader reportedly read the final digit of Gonzales's plate as 7 rather than 2, matching a stolen plate. Body-camera reporting showed officers drew guns and handcuffed both before confirming the mismatch. The sisters later sued; Española police said officers followed procedure.
Laws on record for this risk area
No instrument on record yet covers this risk area where it happened. See the open queue.
Matched from the record's risk category and country to the instruments in effect recorded here: a law listed covers the area, which is not a finding that it applies to this incident. A reviewer can correct the match in the repository (data/external/incident_overrides.yaml).
News reports (1)
Titles link to the original publisher; report text is not reproduced here.
Who was involved
- Alleged deployer
- Law enforcement Española Police Department (New Mexico)
- Alleged developer
- Surveillance technology developers Flock Safety Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers
- Alleged harmed party
- Women and girls Women Road users Privacy Motorists Misidentified individuals Minors Jaclynn Gonzales and her 12-year-old sister Girls Epistemic integrity
AI systems implicated
Surveillance technologyFlock Safety automated license plate reader systemAutomated license plate readers (ALPR)
Classification (MIT AI Risk Repository taxonomy)
- Risk domain
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- Risk subdomain
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- Causal entity
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- Intent
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- Timing
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- Harm level
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Related incidents
Linked by editors or by text similarity in the source dataset.
Other incidents involving Law enforcement
- Stow, Massachusetts, Police Officer Allegedly Used Flock License-Plate Reader System to Track Former Romantic Partner
- Deputies in Cherokee County, Georgia, Allegedly Misused Automated License Plate Reader Data for Non-Law-Enforcement Purposes
- Border Patrol Agent Allegedly Claimed Facial Recognition Identified Minneapolis ICE Observer and Global Entry Was Reportedly Revoked Three Days Later
- West Midlands Police Reportedly Relied on Erroneous Copilot-Generated Intelligence in Maccabi Tel Aviv Away-Fan Ban Decision
- ICE Facial Recognition App Mobile Fortify Reportedly Misidentified Woman Twice During Immigration Enforcement in Oregon
- Purported Facial Recognition Error Reportedly Led to Arrest and Monthslong Jailing of Tennessee Woman in North Dakota Fraud Case
Source record: incident #1698 on the AI Incident Database · all 1 report