While advanced artificial intelligence cameras have proven useful to arrest suspects and track stolen cars, an incident from Colorado highlights how an innocent man faces regular traffic stops due to an error that prompts the Flock automated license plate reader camera to alert the police every time he drives by.
Call it a dystopian future or a simple error that could have been avoided. Unfortunately, Kyle Dausman is paying the price for a crime he did not commit, which highlights the drawbacks of the way this system is set up.
What is even worse is that authorities are unable to solve the problem, making it difficult for Dausman to go anywhere in his truck without being pulled over.
Because of the repeated stops, police officers are now well acquainted with Dausman, and let him go since they know of the issue. However, the question is, for how long will Dausman have to suffer?
Warrant Tied to Truck’s License Plate
The Flock camera system alerts officers in the area when Dausman drives by because his license plate is associated with an active warrant in the system. However, Dausman does not have a warrant against his name, so the police eventually let him go.
9 News reported how Dausman was pulled over for the second time by the same officer while driving through Cherry Hills Village. He said:
“I continually get pulled over. I can’t really use my truck in any fashion. I believe my safety is at risk. They zipped out of nowhere and immediately got behind me with the lights flashing.”
He added:
“Everywhere in the state, every time I pass a camera, they get alerts in their car that I’m in the area.”
Police Chief Acknowledges Data Entry Problem
Cherry Hills Village Police Chief Jason Lyons said his department receives alerts from the Flock camera system when Dausman drives by because his plate is linked to a warrant. He said:
“The Flock cameras did alert to his license plate being associated to a warrant. The officers did what they were supposed to do and responded adequately.”
Lyons explained that the warrant on the license plate is from a Gilpin County case that Dausman was not involved in. He suspects a court data entry error with Colorado’s license plates, which use the letter O and the numeric zero.
He revealed checking with the O and zero, and the warrant appeared for both instances. He said:
“In Colorado data entry, we use both zeros and O’s in license plates. Sometimes the data entry will be for both.”
He added:
“They entered it for both. It wasn’t a mistake, one or the other. They just entered it for both an O and a zero, because we’ve run it both ways and the warrant pops up both ways.”
Weirdly, when 9 News contacted the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, they were told that Dausman’s vehicle is linked to a Colorado State Patrol warrant. The CSP said a man missed his Gilpin County court date, leading to the warrant.
The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office allegedly gave the wrong plate number to the Colorado Crime Information Center, placing it on the Flock hotlist. The CSP said that only the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office can fix the problem.
No Way to Exit the Flock Camera System
Dausman contacted the Gilpin County courts and the sheriff’s office dispatch for help, but he was asked to provide the name of the original suspect. That information could not be obtained because of the ongoing criminal investigation.
Feeling stuck, Dausman revealed that the burden is on him to remove himself from the Flock camera system, instead of the person responsible for the error. He said:
“If I can’t get that name, they apparently aren’t going to be able to help me in any way. I still don’t have the name of the suspect.”
He added:
“Once you’re in the Flock system, it’s on you to get out. You have to bear any responsibility for making that happen.”
Dausman fears the uncertainty around the police stops, especially when driving around with his family. He said:
“I don’t know if I’m going to be pulled over with my family. I don’t know what this guy did to get a warrant. I don’t really know what the police response is gonna be.”
“All I know is I’m in the system now, and there’s really no easy way to get out of the system once you’re in it.”
Lyons admitted that, “Nobody should be stopped when there’s no legitimate law enforcement purpose for that.”
View this post on Instagram