On October 1, 2026, a federal judge in Oklahoma issued a ruling that is sending shockwaves through law enforcement agencies across the country, and it hits close to home for York County residents.
In United States v. Melisa Susan Kyle, U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill ruled that when a Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputy queried a Flock Safety license plate reader database and retrieved more than 50 records of a vehicle’s location over the previous month, he conducted an unconstitutional warrantless search under the Fourth Amendment. All evidence discovered as a result, including 91 pounds of methamphetamine, was thrown out.
The court was clear about the distinction that matters. A camera passively photographing a license plate as a vehicle passes is one act. An officer querying weeks of historical location data on that vehicle without a warrant is another. Judge Hill found the second activity crossed a constitutional line, drawing on a line of Supreme Court rulings including Carpenter v. United States and this year’s Chatrie v. United States, both of which addressed how the Fourth Amendment applies when technology allows investigators to reconstruct a person’s movements at a scale impossible through traditional surveillance.
The ruling does not establish a nationwide rule and does not declare license plate readers unconstitutional. It is binding only in the Northern District of Oklahoma, and the government is expected to appeal. But it is the most significant ruling yet to apply the Supreme Court’s location-privacy framework to this technology.
Why This Matters in York County
York County is deeply invested in this technology. According to Deflock.com and the Atlas of Surveillance at atlasofsurveillance.org, local agencies operate a combined 92 Flock cameras in our community: York County Sheriff’s Office operates 19, Rock Hill Police Department 26, Fort Mill Police Department 24, Clover Police Department 7, Tega Cay Police Department 8, and Catawba Nation Tribal Police 8. Statewide, Deflock.com reports that South Carolina has more than 2,128 Flock cameras deployed across the state, one of the largest concentrations in the country.
Every vehicle passing those cameras is photographed, logged, and stored in a searchable cloud database. Under current law in most jurisdictions, that history can be queried by law enforcement without a warrant.
A York County Man Knows Firsthand What Can Go Wrong
The risks of this technology are not abstract for everyone in our community. A York County man is suing the York County Sheriff’s Office after a Flock camera falsely flagged his car as stolen, prompting a deputy to hold him at gunpoint.
According to a lawsuit filed June 29 in York County, Steven Melvin, 42, was pulling into his apartment complex near Lake Wylie on February 14, 2024, when York County Deputy Kyle Brogden received a Flock alert that a stolen dark-colored BMW sedan was traveling in the area. Brogden approached Melvin’s black BMW sedan with his gun drawn and aimed directly at him, according to the filing. Melvin was ordered to kneel on the ground with his hands over his head for more than five minutes before backup arrived and determined the vehicle was not stolen.
The Flock camera had misread the first letter of Melvin’s license plate. His South Carolina tag was one letter off from the reported stolen vehicle. The sheriff’s office said a tinted license plate cover on Melvin’s car had obscured the camera’s read.
The Bigger Picture
The Tega Cay Sun has been following the Flock story closely. In August 2026, we reported on three York County men arrested after Flock cameras flagged their vehicle in Chester County. In September, we covered Flock cameras becoming a national campaign issue. And just last week, we reported that South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson sent a formal letter to Flock Safety demanding answers about the company’s data access, retention, and AI policies, giving the company 30 days to respond.
The Kyle ruling, the Melvin lawsuit, and the attorney general’s inquiry are all now moving simultaneously. Together they represent growing pressure on a technology that has expanded rapidly across our community.
Stay safe out there, and I will see you next week!
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References
- United States v. Melisa Susan Kyle, No. 4:26-cr-00189-SEH (N.D. Okla. Oct. 1, 2026).
- Deflock.com. Flock Safety Camera Deployment Data. https://www.deflock.me/
- Atlas of Surveillance. Electronic Frontier Foundation. https://atlasofsurveillance.org/
- Melvin v. York County Sheriff’s Office. Filed June 29, 2026. York County, South Carolina.
- Tega Cay Sun. “S.C. Attorney General Seeks Answers From Flock Safety on Privacy Policies.” October 5, 2026. https://tegacaysun.com/2026/10/05/s-c-attorney-general-seeks-answers-from-flock-safety-on-privacy-policies/
- Tega Cay Sun. “Flock Cameras Become a Campaign Target Nationwide as York County Faces Its Own Fight.” September 8, 2026. https://tegacaysun.com/2026/09/08/flock-cameras-become-a-campaign-target-nationwide-as-york-county-faces-its-own-fight/
- Tega Cay Sun. “Three York County Men Arrested in Chester County Flock Camera Case.” August 28, 2026. https://tegacaysun.com/2026/08/28/three-york-county-men-arrested-in-chester-county-flock-camera-case/
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
