A Georgia business owner has taken legal action against a license plate tracking company and local law enforcement, claiming months of unwarranted surveillance.

According to Tyler Murkerson, his license plate was searched multiple times in the Flock system, with deputies providing nonsensical justifications for these searches. Murkerson’s legal team argue that this is a systemic flaw in the Flock platform, which should have required more substantial evidence before executing such searches.

The saga began with Murkerson’s arrest for a seatbelt violation in February 2023, charges that were later dropped. He then sued the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office in September 2024, alleging excessive force. The case was settled recently, but the legal troubles continued as Murkerson alleged further misconduct.

The lawsuit against Flock and the sheriff’s office claims that free-text-field entries allowed for easy abuse, with no direct connection to any specific investigation. Murkerson’s attorneys argue that this approach violates basic privacy laws and constitutes illegal surveillance.

“Throughout the relevant period, Flock’s platform required only that some text be entered in a free-form field, and it accepted whatever was typed,” says the complaint. “Neither ‘info’ nor ‘37’ corresponds to any investigation, case, incident, or call for service. A search recorded that way documents no investigation. It documents only that someone typed something.”