NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A New Bedford police officer accused of using Flock Safety license plate reader technology to track and follow her ex-girlfriend has been placed on paid leave, according to local reporting and court documents obtained in the case.
The officer, Emily Pacheco, is on administrative leave after investigators examined how the department’s automated surveillance system was accessed, Target 12 reported. The allegation centers on claims that she used the Flock Safety database to monitor the location of a former romantic partner, prompting internal scrutiny and legal action.
The New Bedford Police Department said the department temporarily suspended its Flock camera technology in response to an audit that led to “internal investigations,” a move that came after media inquiries about accusations involving the patrol officer. According to WPRI, the suspension announcement arrived one day after Target 12 asked about claims that a patrol officer used the system to track her ex-girlfriend.
Target 12 confirmed that Pacheco was placed on paid leave on Monday. Earlier, police said she had been assigned restrictive or desk duty beginning Aug. 1, at which time her access to departmental systems and databases was restricted.
While the department’s audit prompted a broader pause in the technology’s operation, the specific allegations against Pacheco appear to have emerged through court filings. In the complaint referenced by WPRI, a woman who said she had a relationship with Pacheco for more than two years and lived together for about 90% of that time alleged that between April and July of this year, Pacheco engaged in conduct that left her “in fear of imminent serious physical harm.”
Additional details were reported by The New Bedford Light, which said the officer is facing an internal affairs investigation. The outlet described an affidavit filed in connection with a request for an abuse prevention order, in which the court records reportedly state that there was an open internal affairs probe into her “running my license plate through Flock to follow me.”
According to that reporting, the officer was served an abuse prevention order after a judge’s ruling. The New Bedford Light further reported that the internal affairs investigation is ongoing and that the police union president confirmed the investigation but did not disclose its reasons.
In the affidavit context described by The New Bedford Light, the accuser and the court annotations characterize the alleged behavior as stalking beginning in April 2026, alongside statements reflecting fear and the existence of the internal affairs inquiry. While the reporting does not provide the full evidentiary record in the affidavit within the excerpt, it ties the alleged stalking conduct to use of the Flock system.
The dispute highlights a growing national debate over how law enforcement uses automated license plate reader networks, and under what guardrails. Even where such systems are intended to support legitimate public safety goals, critics argue that they can create opportunities for improper tracking, especially when access is controlled internally.
WPRI’s account describes the department’s response as administrative and procedural: after the audit, the technology was suspended and internal investigations were initiated. Target 12 also reported that once Pacheco was placed on restrictive/desk duty, her access to departmental systems and databases was restricted—an important step that appears aimed at preventing further use while the case is reviewed.
As the matter moves forward through internal processes and the courts, questions remain about what exactly investigators found during the audit and what limitations—if any—were placed on access to the Flock Safety database before the alleged misuse was identified. The public reporting also underscores that the alleged conduct is linked not only to surveillance technology, but to claims of personal targeting of an intimate partner.
The New Bedford Light’s coverage emphasizes that the officer’s internal affairs status has been confirmed publicly, and that a judge has issued an abuse prevention order following testimony and affidavit submissions. That legal step indicates that, at least at the time of the ruling, a court concluded that the request met required thresholds for issuing protective relief.
The case comes amid broader attention to alleged misuses of Flock camera technology nationwide. While the New Bedford matter is the subject of local reporting, other public accounts have described investigations in different states involving alleged tracking and misuse of automated license plate reader systems by officers and deputies. For example, People reported on a Florida officer accused of tracking an estranged wife using Flock technology on numerous occasions, illustrating how similar technologies can be at the center of allegations across jurisdictions.
For New Bedford residents, the immediate impact is the temporary suspension of the department’s Flock camera technology following the audit. For Pacheco, the developments include paid leave and the restriction of system access starting Aug. 1, as investigators and the courts examine whether the officer violated policy and the law.
At this stage, the allegations have not been determined in court, and the internal affairs investigation remains active. However, the combination of an audit-driven suspension, paid administrative leave, and a court-issued abuse prevention order suggests the case has escalated beyond an internal complaint into a matter involving both accountability mechanisms and protective legal proceedings.
WPRI reported the administrative leave and the department’s audit response. The New Bedford Light reported details of the affidavit language and the abuse prevention order proceedings. Additional context about similar allegations involving Flock technology appears in national coverage such as People.
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