LMPD detective investigated for more alleged Flock misuse months after suspension in separate case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — A Louisville Metro Police detective is under investigation for alleged Flock camera misuse months after he was suspended in a separate case involving the technology.

According to an internal LMPD memo, Chief Paul Humphrey launched the investigation into Detective Wesley Troutman last week. The investigation centers on Flock searches Troutman made in November 2024 and January 2025.

The memo directs LMPD’s Professional Standards Unit to investigate Troutman’s use of the license plate reader system, including searches of a vehicle assigned to another department employee.

It’s the latest scrutiny involving Troutman’s access to Flock and comes months after he was disciplined in a separate investigation involving immigration-related searches.

In that case, Troutman was suspended for two days without pay for sharing his Flock login credentials with a Drug Enforcement Administration agent while working on a federal task force.

LMPD’s investigation found the DEA agent later used those credentials to conduct searches using immigration-related terms. Troutman’s attorney previously said his client gave the agent access for criminal investigations and did not know the account would be used for immigration enforcement.

The department said at the time it “found no evidence” that anyone with the department participated in civil immigration investigations or enforcement.

‘Critically important role’

The investigation into Troutman comes at a time when city leaders in Louisville and around the country continue to defend Flock cameras as an important crime-fighting tool.

That role was on display Wednesday as LMPD detailed how the cameras helped investigators arrest two juveniles in the shooting death of 16-year-old Dannady Greene near a JCPS bus stop last week.

Police said Flock cameras helped investigators track the suspect vehicle toward southern Indiana, where Jeffersonville Police found it at an apartment complex. Video helped investigators identify two people who matched witness descriptions, and a search of the apartment turned up the handgun police identified as the murder weapon.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg pointed to the case as an example of why he believes the technology remains valuable.

“Flock cameras play a critically important role in keeping this community safe,” Greenberg said.

According to data from Flock Safety, its technology supported more than 1 million criminal investigations and incidents nationwide in 2025.

“Are there things we can do to put new guardrails or parameters? Let’s have that debate,” Flock Chief Corporate Affairs office Josh Tomas said in an April 2026 interview. “But let’s not say the technology isn’t helpful because it clearly is.”

Flock’s license plate reader network now connects law enforcement agencies across 49 states.

‘Monitoring innocent people’

But as law enforcement’s use of the technology has grown, so have concerns about how that access can be misused.

Kate Miller, advocacy director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said the organization is especially concerned with how much information the cameras collect on every day drivers.

“Flock cameras are monitoring innocent people who have not been accused of a crime, so that’s real concern for us,” Miller said.

Those concerns grow deeper with the ACLU as more Flock misuse cases come to light.

A Shively Police officer was arrested last week after an audit uncovered more than 2,000 searches involving vehicles connected to the mother of his child. Police said the woman was not connected to any active criminal investigation.

In southern Indiana, former Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Skylar Thompson was charged this week with official misconduct and fraud after investigators said an audit found more than 2,000 searches of the same license plate over several months.

Former LMPD Officer Roberto Cedeno is also facing stalking and harassment charges in a case dating back to 2025. Investigators accused him of using Flock cameras to track his former partner’s vehicle. That case remains pending.

And issue extends beyond the Louisville area. Gray Media’s national investigative team is tracking more than 70 cases across the country involving officers who have been investigated, disciplined, fired or arrested for allegedly misusing Flock.

The scrutiny has also reached Congress.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison introduced the “Flock-Off Act” Wednesday, which would prohibit federal money from being used to purchase, install, operate, maintain or upgrade automated license plate readers and biometric surveillance cameras.

The proposal would not prevent state or local governments from paying for the technology with their own money.

Guardrails against misuse

Greenberg did acknowledge Wednesday that any technology can be abused, including Flock cameras.

“When they are abused, we will investigate those and hold individuals responsible,” Greenberg said.

LMPD added safeguards to its Flock system following the previous investigation involving Troutman’s account, including:

• Implementing two-factor authentication for the Flock system
• Tightening rules to require a valid National Incident-Based Reporting System code for every search, ensuring each search is tied to a criminal investigation
• Activating filters on Flock data, blocking any other law enforcement agency from conducting an immigration-related search
• Revising internal LMPD immigration policy to apply it to all other agencies requesting assistance from LMPD
• Strengthening its password-sharing policy

Greenberg said Wednesday those changes are meant to put more protections around how the system is used.

“There is a whole host of procedures already in place to ensure Flock cameras are used responsibly, with guardrails,” he said.

Flock logs searches conducted through its system and has technology designed to flag potentially questionable activity. But individual law enforcement agencies are responsible for reviewing how their officers use the system.

That has put more attention on how often departments audit Flock searches.

Shively Police began reviewing its Flock activity weekly after its recent flock misuse investigation. LMPD currently conducts its reviews quarterly.

“There should be regular audits,” Greenberg said. “We understand the questions and that’s why LMPD already has procedures in place to ensure Flock cameras are used for the right reason with guardrails and those will continue to be enhanced over the coming weeks and months.”

For Greenberg, though, the growing number of alleged misuse cases doesn’t outweigh what he sees as the benefits of the technology.

Nationally, Flock is also recommending police departments delete historical travel data every seven days.

The latest investigation into Troutman remains ongoing.