Crime27 August, 20262 min read
Kentucky Officer Asad Zahir Arrested for Using Flock Safety to Track Ex-Girlfriend’s Vehicles
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Shively Officer Asad Zahir arrested for using Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend 2,048 times. Tracking involved the ex’s family and others, using surveillance under false pretenses across state lines.
Officer Stalked Ex With Flock
A Kentucky police officer, Asad Zahir of the Shively Police Department, was arrested after authorities said he used the department’s Flock Safety license plate reader system to track his ex-girlfriend’s vehicles across Kentucky and Indiana between January and May. Authorities said Zahir conducted 2,048 Flock searches targeting two vehicles registered to the mother of an officer’s child and logged every search under “drug or narcotics investigation” despite no active investigation and no documented connection to drug offenses.
“Officer Asad Zahir of the Shively Police Department now faces criminal charges after authorities say he used the department’s Flock Safety license plate reader system to track his ex-girlfriend’s vehicles across Kentucky and Indiana between January and May.”
The case came to light when Flock Safety’s AI auditing layer flagged the anomaly on a Monday and Zahir was arrested by Tuesday, according to the account of the incident. Shively Police Chief Andre Bottoms said, “The Flock camera works,” adding that “When it’s used properly it works.”
AI Audit Triggers Arrest
Court records and CNN reporting described how Zahir allegedly ran 241 of the searches between April 17 and May 6 while a protective order against him was active.
The same reporting said Zahir was charged with five counts of official misconduct and five counts of unlawful computer access under Kentucky law, then suspended without pay.
WKRC/CNN Newsource said Zahir was arrested on August 25 after he was “flagged by Flock Safety's AI-powered auditing tool,” and it said he was suspended without pay and charged with official misconduct and unlawful access to a computer.
In the Times of India account of the news conference, Bottoms said, “Charging this officer was not pleasant. It was a gut punch for me personally,” and he added, “Accountability cannot depend on who you are and what position you hold or what badge you’re wearing.”
Protocol Review and Broader Backlash
After the arrest, Shively Police Chief Andre Bottoms promised protocol reviews covering access rules, search justifications, and supervisory oversight, framing the case as a “gut punch” while emphasizing the system’s documented wins. The Asia경제 report said Bottoms told reporters, “We will conduct a complete review of all Flock system protocols and oversight measures.”
“Andre Bottoms, Chief of the Shaiblee Police Department, stated at a press conference, ‘We will conduct a complete review of all Flock system protocols and oversight measures.’”
The same Asia경제 article said political and civil opposition escalated as more than 120,000 AI surveillance cameras were installed across the United States and approximately 20 billion license plate records were collected every month. It also said Flock announced new measures, including that police would be required to enter case numbers when querying vehicle information and that the storage period for collected license plate data would be reduced from 30 days to just 7 days.