AI incident ·
Harris County, Texas, Deputies Reportedly Detained Two 19-Year-Olds at Gunpoint After Flock Safety License-Plate Reader Detected Different Stolen Camaro
In brief
An AI system built by Surveillance technology developers, Flock Safety and 1 other and deployed by Law enforcement and Harris County Sheriff's Office (Texas) allegedly harmed Two 19-year-old men detained in Cypress, Texas and 7 others.
- Risk domain
- Not classified
- Occurred
- Coverage
- 1 report
What happened
In Cypress, Texas, sheriff's deputies reportedly held two 19-year-old men at gunpoint and handcuffed them after Flock Safety cameras detected the plate of a stolen Camaro linked to robberies. An undercover unit then spotted a similar Camaro but could not read its plate; after the detention, deputies realized it was the wrong car. One man reported cuts and scrapes after being pushed to the ground.
Editor's notes
The incident ID date is 08/03/2023; the ID itself was created 09/23/2026.
Laws that address this harm
No recorded instrument yet addresses this use case where it happened. See the open queue.
Matched from the record's risk domain and country to the instruments recorded here. 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 Harris County Sheriff's Office (Texas)
- Alleged developer
- Surveillance technology developers Flock Safety Automated license plate reader (ALPR) developers
- Alleged harmed party
- Two 19-year-old men detained in Cypress, Texas Road users Privacy Motorists Men and boys Men Individuals mistakenly detained by law enforcement 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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Other incidents involving Law enforcement
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- 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
- New Orleans Police Reportedly Used Real-Time Facial Recognition Alerts Supplied by Project NOLA Despite Local Ordinance
Source record: incident #1703 on the AI Incident Database · all 1 report