Milwaukee Police Department officials questioned during council meeting about Flock camera usage

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Thursday morning, March 12, during a Public Health and Safety Committee meeting, officials with the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) were questioned by council members on how their officers are using Flock cameras and how they're making sure they're not being misused. 

This comes after former Milwaukee police officer Josue Ayala was charged with attempted misconduct and resigned from his position last week, as court documents allege he used Flock cameras to run the plates of two people for personal reasons, nearly 200 times in three months.

"It is not to collect private information of our citizens. That is not the purpose of this particular system and MPD is not directed to use for surveillance purposes," said MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman. "What I will guarantee is there will be swift accountability in regard to this particular type of losing the trust of our department, of our community."

The cameras use artificial intelligence to take still pictures of a car's license plate and details, which then get uploaded into a database for about 30 days, alerting law enforcement in real time if the car is on a suspect list.

According to MPD, only officers in certain positions within the Criminal Investigation Bureau have access and they're trained on how to use them. 

"We're continually adapting to these new tools and putting things in place to do everything we can to prevent misuse," said MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough.

Plus, officials said there will now be a new audit process for the training itself, and they've also reinforced the audit system to ensure the technology is being appropriately used. 

“Members understand that this is serious, that violations of the misuse of this program aren’t just career-enders, but they’re breaches of public trust which is the currency that we use to have effective law enforcement," said James Lewis, MPD risk manager.