Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto on Wednesday announced the termination of a deputy who admitted to using the department's Flock automated license plate recognition system to search a plate belonging to his former fiancée "several thousand times" over several years.
The deputy, identified by the department as Nathan Rome, is not facing any criminal charges, such as cyberstalking, after the fiancée declined to make a criminal complaint. Officials said the fiancée told investigators she was aware of the searches and that she did not consider herself a victim.
"She gave us a statement that she was aware that he was doing it," Lopinto said Wednesday. "There was no history of domestic violence between the two, no stalking incidents."
But Rome's actions constituted a violation of department policy, and he was fired, Lopinto said.
"You can't use the Flock system as your own personal Life 360. That's a problem," he said.
The Sheriff's Office became aware of Rome's actions Monday when they were contacted by a national media outlet inquiring about possible inappropriate use of the Flock system by an employee, according to the department.
Officials did not disclose exactly how many times Rome used the system to track his fiancée, calling it "several thousand times" between 2024 and 2026. Internal affairs investigators interviewed Rome Tuesday, and he admitted to the searches, the Sheriff's Office said.
"The employee advised that he and his former fiancée maintained a friendly relationship," the department said in a statement released Wednesday morning. "Based on this admission, the employee was immediately suspended."
Investigators spoke with Rome's former fiancée, and she confirmed she knew about the searches. She asked that Rome be allowed to remain employed, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The department called Rome's misuse of the cameras a "serious violation of JPSO policy," regardless of the circumstances.
Details of Rome’s camera misuse come as surveillance technology providers in the U.S. have been under increased scrutiny from opponents and civil rights advocates who have and the potential for law enforcement to abuse such systems.
The Sheriff's Office has been using automated license plate readers since 2008 to track vehicle movements as part of investigations, from missing persons searches to vehicle burglaries and homicide cases.
Flock system cameras can also log and track identifying details such as the color, make and model of a vehicle and even whether it has a bumper sticker. That information is loaded into a searchable database available to law enforcement nationwide.
"It unfortunately comes as no surprise that yet another law enforcement agent abused Flock surveillance technology. This is one more example of how dangerous mass surveillance is, particularly without guardrails or transparency," ACLU of h Advocacy Director Sarah Whittington said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
Critics of the Flock system and similar providers say the information they collect and make available through searchable databases could be used to build a mass surveillance system used for warrantless searches and violations of constitutional rights.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg. If we continue to allow Flock and other surveillance companies to expand unchecked, we will watch as our right to privacy becomes a thing of the past," Whittington said.
The Sheriff's Office declined to disclose how many ALPR cameras the department had in use as of Wednesday. , the Times-Picayune found that the Sheriff's Office had more than 100 fixed cameras mounted across the parish.
"From a law enforcement standpoint, it’s an extremely effective tool that we use to solve crime,” Lopinto said. “When you have deputies like this that abuse the system, it gives the rest of the system a black eye."