Colorado woman wrongfully cited for theft files class action against Flock

Columbine Valley Police pursued theft charges against a Colorado woman based on footage captured on Flock Cameras around her hometown.DENVER (CN) — A Colorado woman has filed a federal class action against Flock Safety and the town of Columbine Valley, accusing them of recording her without consent and using the footage to prosecute her for a crime she didn’t commit.“I had no idea the Flock cameras existed and no idea a private company was keeping a record of every time I drove past my own neighborhood,” Chrisanna Elser said in a statement provided by her attorney, Andy McNulty.Elser learned she was being investigated for package theft last year when a Columbine Valley Police sergeant served her with a criminal summons at her home on Sept. 27, 2025, citing her for theft.Although Columbine Valley was Flock Safety’s first customer in Colorado, Elser didn’t know the town had installed automatic license plate readers until she was under investigation. Cameras in neighboring Bow Mar, which contracts with the Columbine Valley Police Department, captured her truck passing a house where a package was stolen, leading police to pin the crime on her.In the 64-page complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Elser says law enforcement ignored her offer to provide evidence that would clear her name because it placed her a quarter mile away being fitted for a dress at the time of the theft.Additionally, Elser said she did not resemble the woman captured on the home’s doorbell camera — footage which she said police initially refused to provide her.Although the police department eventually cleared her summons, Elser said she suffered emotional distress from being falsely accused of the crime, and her employer nearly put her on administrative leave.In addition to suing the Denver suburbs of Columbine Valley and Bow Mar, Elser named Flock Safety as a defendant, arguing the company failed to put guardrails in place to protect the rights of people like her.In the complaint, Elser argued she “was forced to endure the specter of criminal prosecution for weeks because Flock, Bow Mar and Columbine Valley allowed officers unrestricted access to the Flock database without requiring a warrant, probable cause, supervisory approval, or any reason whatsoever.”In addition to Elser, civil rights attorney McNulty also represents a class of Boulder residents who similarly challenged Flock’s authority to operate “one of the largest mass surveillance networks in American history.”Citing violations of her civil rights, Elser asked the court to block Flock’s “warrantless collection, cataloging, retention, sharing, and searching of the record” of her movements, and those of others like her.The towns of Columbine Valley and Bow Mar did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment, nor did Flock Safety.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads