CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Every time a Katy police officer searches for a vehicle using the city's Flock license plate reader system, the search leaves a digital trail.
But one of Flock's key tools for automatically detecting abnormal searches did not exist when former Katy police officer Sergio Guadalupe Rodriguez allegedly used the system to track his ex-wife.
Flock Safety says its Audit Assistance technology, which identifies abnormal activity and flags it for administrative review, was introduced earlier this year. Rodriguez is accused of misusing Flock from Nov. 2, 2024, through April 2, 2025.
The system could record who conducted a search, when it was conducted and the reason given for accessing the information. But a digital trail is not the same thing as someone auditing what is happening and reacting if activity looks suspicious.
Katy police say they currently conduct monthly random audits and quarterly audits of every officer with Flock search privileges. What remains unclear is whether those procedures were in place during Rodriguez's alleged misuse and whether any audit identified or questioned his searches before his ex-wife complained.
Covering Katy News has requested public records from the City of Katy to answer those questions.
Flock keeps a record
In the first part of our investigation, Covering Katy News examined the extensive information Katy officers can access through Flock.
Katy owns 40 Flock cameras, but officers can search a much larger network shared among law enforcement agencies and in some cases local homeowners associations which use the cameras.
Katy police say every search creates a permanent audit trail showing who conducted it, when it occurred and the reason entered for the search. Police also say access to Flock searches is restricted.
Prosecutors allege Rodriguez used Flock to track his ex-wife for about five months.
His ex-wife filed a formal complaint with Katy police in October 2025 alleging he was somehow tracking her whereabouts. Katy police said the department immediately opened an investigation and determined Rodriguez had misused Flock to search for her vehicle.
Rodriguez was suspended, later fired and charged with stalking and misuse of official information. He has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
Katy police have not publicly said whether any routine audit identified or questioned his searches before his ex-wife complained.
Flock adds new safeguards
Flock is now adding safeguards specifically designed to identify suspicious searches.
Flock announced Aug. 13 that it introduced Audit Assistance about 16 weeks earlier. The company says the technology detects abnormal activity and flags it for administrator review.
That puts its introduction roughly a year after Rodriguez's alleged misuse ended.
Flock says more than one-third of its customers voluntarily adopted Audit Assistance after it became available. That means nearly two-thirds of of their customers did not adopt the technology designed to detect abuse. The company now says all law enforcement customers will be required to use it by the end of 2026.
Flock is also introducing “proactive lockout,” which can automatically suspend a user's access when activity meets defined criteria for abnormal behavior.
“The goal is to intervene before misuse becomes recurring or widespread,” Flock said.
Another safeguard also came after Rodriguez's alleged activity.
Flock introduced an optional case-code requirement in July 2025. The feature allows agencies to require officers to associate searches with a criminal case. Flock now plans to require case codes for all law enforcement searches by the end of 2026, with emergency searches flagged for administrative review.
What safeguards did Katy have?
Katy police previously told Covering Katy News that Flock had “since implemented” technology designed to detect abnormal searches and automatically lock users out.
We now know Flock's Audit Assistance and optional case-code requirement were not available during the period of Rodriguez's alleged misuse.
What remains unclear is when Katy's monthly and quarterly audits began and whether any audit or other review raised concerns about Rodriguez's searches before his ex-wife complained.
Covering Katy News has requested records from the City of Katy to determine when the department's safeguards were implemented, whether routine audits were being conducted during the period of Rodriguez's alleged misuse and whether any audit or Flock-generated alert identified or questioned his searches before the complaint.
Texas scrutiny grows
Katy's questions come as Flock faces growing scrutiny across Texas.
The Texas Tribune reported Aug. 28 that Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras amid mounting scrutiny of the technology.
Abbott's action does not prohibit Katy or other local governments from continuing to use Flock with other funding.
Texas Scorecard reported that some Texas communities also have begun pulling back from the technology.
Katy police have not indicated that the Rodriguez case will cause the department to stop using Flock. Police have said the system helps solve hundreds of crimes annually and called it “one of the best crime-fighting tools developed in modern policing.”
But the Rodriguez case illustrates why oversight of such a powerful system matters.
Flock can show investigators what an officer searched after questions arise. The unanswered question in Katy is whether the safeguards operating at the time could have identified questionable activity before someone else raised the alarm.
Covering Katy News' public records request seeks to answer that question.
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