Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
‘Darth Vader’ comes out in favor of Flock cameras at San Diego city council meeting - The dark lord – or someone dressed like him – said the technology would aid the empire in tracking ‘rebel scum’ -- How surveillance tech led police to accuse the wrong person - After police used Flock cameras to accuse a Denver woman of theft, she had to prove her own innocence - Chrisanna Elser spent days collecting evidence, from apps on her phone to dashcam footage in her vehicle, to prove her whereabouts - hen a Columbine Valley police officer showed up at Chrisanna Elser’s home in Denver, he was certain he had caught a thief. Sgt. Jamie Milliman knocked on the door, summons in hand, and accused Elser of stealing a package from the doorstep in the neighboring town of Bow Mar, only 50 feet south. Most people never expect a knock on the door from a police officer to flip their life upside down. Yet that is exactly what happened to Chrisanna Elser in the Denver area of Colorado, near the small towns of Bow Mar and Columbine Valley.
Columbine Valley Police Department accused her of stealing a $25 package from a porch in the neighboring town of Bow Mar, Colorado.
The officer said surveillance technology pointed directly to her vehicle, a forest green Rivian R1T electric pickup truck. But Chrisanna insists she never stole anything.
What followed became a real-world lesson in modern surveillance. Doorbell cameras, license plate readers and phone location data suddenly became evidence in a case she had to fight herself.
The officer told her a package had been stolen from a home roughly 1.3 miles away in Bow Mar, Colorado. The accusation was based on surveillance tools used around the area. According to the officer, Flock license plate reader cameras had captured her forest green Rivian driving through Bow Mar between 11:52 a.m. and 12:09 p.m. on the day of the theft.
Chrisanna said she tried to show the officer evidence that she had nothing to do with the theft. But she says he would not review it. "And basically, he just continued to start with that. I was lying to him. Never lied to him once."
Instead, the officer issued a summons ordering her to appear in court in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Chrisanna later found the video that triggered the accusation. Neighbors had posted the porch camera footage on the community app Nextdoor while trying to identify the thief. At first, she could understand why the police thought the suspect resembled her. "When I saw the video from far away, I was like, wow, I guess that kind of looks like me."
But the closer she examined the footage, the more differences she noticed. "She was significantly younger, and she had a bit of a shaved underside under her head." The suspect ran away from the house and disappeared off camera.
Importantly, the person in the video ran away on foot and did not get into any vehicle, something that conflicted with the police theory involving Elser's truck. Still, the investigation continued.
One of the technologies involved in the investigation was a Flock camera. Flock cameras are automated license plate reader systems made by the company Flock Safety. Cities and neighborhoods across the United States install them at intersections and neighborhood entrances.
They automatically capture:
License plate numbers
Vehicle color and approximate vehicle type
Date, time and location
Police departments can search the camera network to see when a vehicle passed certain locations. In Bow Mar and Columbine Valley, Colorado, the cameras are used by the Columbine Valley police to help identify vehicles connected to investigations.
Chrisanna gathered multiple sources of proof to show where she had actually been including:
• Google Location Timeline data
• Flock camera images
• Photos from other stops she made that day
• Video from her own vehicle's onboard cameras and GPS system
She built a timeline and sent the evidence to the police. Eventually, the Columbine Valley Police Chief, Bret Cottrell, reviewed the information and responded by email. After roughly two weeks, the summons was voided, and the case was dropped. The actual porch theft was never solved. The officer involved later received a formal reprimand and was ordered to complete additional training, according to internal police documents.
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#flockcameras #surveillance #biggovernment #darthvader #starwars
#police #audit #justice #citycouncil
‘Darth Vader’ comes out in favor of Flock cameras at San Diego city council meeting - The dark lord – or someone dressed like him – said the technology would aid the empire in tracking ‘rebel scum’ -- How surveillance tech led police to accuse the wrong person - After police used Flock cameras to accuse a Denver woman of theft, she had to prove her own innocence - Chrisanna Elser spent days collecting evidence, from apps on her phone to dashcam footage in her vehicle, to prove her whereabouts - hen a Columbine Valley police officer showed up at Chrisanna Elser’s home in Denver, he was certain he had caught a thief. Sgt. Jamie Milliman knocked on the door, summons in hand, and accused Elser of stealing a package from the doorstep in the neighboring town of Bow Mar, only 50 feet south. Most people never expect a knock on the door from a police officer to flip their life upside down. Yet that is exactly what happened to Chrisanna Elser in the Denver area of Colorado, near the small towns of Bow Mar and Columbine Valley.
Columbine Valley Police Department accused her of stealing a $25 package from a porch in the neighboring town of Bow Mar, Colorado.
The officer said surveillance technology pointed directly to her vehicle, a forest green Rivian R1T electric pickup truck. But Chrisanna insists she never stole anything.
What followed became a real-world lesson in modern surveillance. Doorbell cameras, license plate readers and phone location data suddenly became evidence in a case she had to fight herself.
The officer told her a package had been stolen from a home roughly 1.3 miles away in Bow Mar, Colorado. The accusation was based on surveillance tools used around the area. According to the officer, Flock license plate reader cameras had captured her forest green Rivian driving through Bow Mar between 11:52 a.m. and 12:09 p.m. on the day of the theft.
Chrisanna said she tried to show the officer evidence that she had nothing to do with the theft. But she says he would not review it. "And basically, he just continued to start with that. I was lying to him. Never lied to him once."
Instead, the officer issued a summons ordering her to appear in court in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Chrisanna later found the video that triggered the accusation. Neighbors had posted the porch camera footage on the community app Nextdoor while trying to identify the thief. At first, she could understand why the police thought the suspect resembled her. "When I saw the video from far away, I was like, wow, I guess that kind of looks like me."
But the closer she examined the footage, the more differences she noticed. "She was significantly younger, and she had a bit of a shaved underside under her head." The suspect ran away from the house and disappeared off camera.
Importantly, the person in the video ran away on foot and did not get into any vehicle, something that conflicted with the police theory involving Elser's truck. Still, the investigation continued.
One of the technologies involved in the investigation was a Flock camera. Flock cameras are automated license plate reader systems made by the company Flock Safety. Cities and neighborhoods across the United States install them at intersections and neighborhood entrances.
They automatically capture:
License plate numbers
Vehicle color and approximate vehicle type
Date, time and location
Police departments can search the camera network to see when a vehicle passed certain locations. In Bow Mar and Columbine Valley, Colorado, the cameras are used by the Columbine Valley police to help identify vehicles connected to investigations.
Chrisanna gathered multiple sources of proof to show where she had actually been including:
• Google Location Timeline data
• Flock camera images
• Photos from other stops she made that day
• Video from her own vehicle's onboard cameras and GPS system
She built a timeline and sent the evidence to the police. Eventually, the Columbine Valley Police Chief, Bret Cottrell, reviewed the information and responded by email. After roughly two weeks, the summons was voided, and the case was dropped. The actual porch theft was never solved. The officer involved later received a formal reprimand and was ordered to complete additional training, according to internal police documents.
Music: Groovtastic by Dhruva Aliman - Amazon - amazon.com/music/player/albums/B01AH0I9FK?&linkCode=ll2&tag=seekerland07-20&linkId=049d91c2ef2bf8648a424acf8a7ce552&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl - Apple - music.apple.com/us/artist/dhruva-aliman/363563637- Spotify - open.spotify.com/artist/5XiFCr9iBKE6Cupltgnlet - Bandcamp - dhruvaaliman.bandcamp.com/album/road-of-fortunes - dhruvaaliman.com - instagram.com/dhruvaaliman - https://x.com/DhruvaAliman
#flockcameras #surveillance #biggovernment #darthvader #starwars
#police #audit #justice #citycouncil
