An Oklahoma City police sergeant accessed the department's Flock license-plate camera database for personal use over five months, earning a three-day suspension without pay and a year of disciplinary probation, according to records first reported by KOSU on Aug. 12.
Sgt. Keenan Heskett's improper searches spanned December 2024 through April 2025, department disciplinary documents show. He received a Class 3 reprimand in June, the most serious penalty disclosed. The nature of his searches has not been made public.
The disciplinary records were obtained through a public records request filed by Oklahoma City resident Jarrett Freeman, who asked OKCPD for all actions related to officer misuse of the Flock platform. The department provided only one record in response.
A second officer also received discipline for improper Flock use in a separate case, but department officials said that penalty did not rise to the level required for public release. The officer's name and the nature of the misuse remain undisclosed.
Disclosed during contract vote
The cases came to wider attention at the Aug. 18 City Council meeting, where OKCPD Chief Ron Bacy confirmed two employee misuse incidents since 2022. The council voted 5-3 that same evening to renew the city's $270,000 Flock contract through June 30, 2027.
The gallery erupted with shouts of disapproval when the vote passed.
Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon, who voted against renewal, cited the Heskett case directly at the meeting. She said documented evidence showed at least one officer used the system for private purposes over five months, adding that "the potential benefits do not outweigh the cost," according to KFOR. Hamon also noted the misuse was flagged only because a resident filed a complaint.
Not a single resident who spoke during public comment supported the renewal, and ACLU Oklahoma organizing manager Carly Heitland delivered 2,200 signed petitions against the cameras.
New guardrails, old gaps
The renewed contract, the city's third annual Flock renewal since 2023, includes first-time regulatory amendments: all searches must now be logged and tied to a specific user with a stated reason, data retention drops from 30 days to seven, automatic national data sharing has been turned off, and any new camera installations require council approval.
Bacy told the council the department's 90 cameras have helped recover 1,280 stolen vehicles and aided homicide investigations since OKCPD began using ALPR technology in 2014. He described the new safeguards as sufficient for a force of roughly 1,500 employees where only two had been involved in misuse.
Freeman told the council that traditional police work should remain the primary investigative method. Separately, he told KOSU he believes additional misuse incidents may have occurred without resulting in formal discipline.
The Institute for Justice has cataloged more than 100 incidents of license-plate reader abuse nationwide, including cases of romantic stalking and wrongful stops.
Council members James Cooper, JoBeth Hamon and Camal Pennington voted against renewal. Mayor David Holt and council members Bradley Carter, Katrina Avers, Todd Stone and Matthew Hinkle voted in favor, according to the Journal Record. Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher was absent.
The contract runs retroactively from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
