New Bedford Police Seek Public Input on Flock Camera Future After Recommending Officer Firings

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford Police Chief Jason Thody announced today that he is recommending two of the department’s officers be terminated following an internal investigation into the misuse of Automated License Plate Reader technology, including the Flock Safety system. In addition, the department is also seeking public input in how to move forward with using the technology.

Chief Thody and Mayor Jon Mitchell held a press conference at New Bedford Police headquarters to announce the results of an internal affairs investigation that determined both Officer Emily Pacheco and Sergeant James Marinelli misused ALPR technology and violated several NBPD policies and procedures.

“Based on the severity of the charges I have made the recommendation to Mayor Mitchell that both Officer Pacheco and Sgt. Marinelli be terminated from the New Bedford Police Department,” Thody said.

Civil Service law requires both Pacheco and Marinelli face disciplinary hearings which may result in termination.

Chief Thody said ALPR technology remains inactive as the audit of its use by the department continues, but that he is releasing proposed guidelines for its continued use for the public to review.

READ MORE: New Bedford Shuts Down Flock Cameras

He pointed out that it is alleged that Officer Pacheco utilized four different systems to obtain information, and that there is no suggestion to eliminate those other systems like there is with Flock.

“Technology did not make these decisions. People did. That distinction matters,” Thody said. “Powerful technology requires powerful safeguards.”

Chief Thody ordered a comprehensive audit of the NBPD’s use of Flock technology on July 31 following a public meeting in which concerns were raised about misuse of the system and violations of privacy.

“That same day, the audit identified activity involving a department member, Officer Pacheco, that raised concerns about potential unauthorized use,” the department said in a release. “Officer Pacheco’s access to the Flock system was immediately suspended, and the matter was referred to the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for further investigation.”

Details of the NBPD Investigation Into Officer Pacheco

New Bedford Light had previously broken the story that Officer Emily Pacheco was placed on administrative duty on August 1 while under investigation for allegedly using the Flock cameras to search the registration of a vehicle that belonged to her ex-girlfriend. Pacheco was then placed on paid administration leave on August 10 after the ex-girlfriend was granted a restraining order against her due to alleged continued harassment.

“The investigation involving Officer Pacheco alleges an extensive pattern of misconduct,” Chief Thody said at the press conference. “The investigation determined that Officer Pacheco repeatedly used department resources to obtain information concerning a former romantic partner, and that individual’s new partner.”

READ MORE: The Complete (But Redacted) Report on Officer Pacheco

He also said it is alleged she misused not just Flock, but three separate law enforcement systems to search for information on multiple people with whom she had a personal relationship. She is also accused of violations of multiple department policies, including “conduct inconsistent with the standards expected of department personnel,” according to the release.

The report on Officer Pacheco stated she performed searches on one vehicle registration a total of 658 times between January 1, 2026, and July 27, 2026 (the audit could only access data from January 1 of this year onward). She allegedly searched another registration 229 times between June 11, 2026, and July 26, 2026. She listed “traffic infractions” as the reason for these searches. She also allegedly used 149 to 150 different networks for a majority of these searches.

According to the report, Officer Pacheco had previously shown the ex-girlfriend how the Flock system works and even replied “Haha, like, maybe” when the ex-girlfriend asked if Pacheco used the system to follow her.

Details of the NBPD Investigation Into Sgt. Marinelli

On August 5, the ongoing audit of the Flock technology flagged activity by Sgt. Marinelli. It is alleged that Sgt. Marinelli performed 68 searches between May 7, 2026, and July 15, 2026, for a vehicle registration of a woman with whom he was in a relationship, which was confirmed to the investigating officer by a Facebook post from Marinelli announcing him and the subject of the searches as in a relationship.

According to the investigation report, the registered owner only had two interactions with the NBPD, both for traffic citations, with one in June 2025 and one on July 13, 2026, the latter for speeding. Sgt. Marinelli was not directly involved in that traffic stop, the report stated.

The 68 searches happened across two to six different law enforcement networks. Those included the three networks of New Bedford cameras, as well as those in Acushnet, Dartmouth, and Lakeville.

READ MORE: The Complete (But Redacted) Report on Sgt. Marinelli

The report also pointed out that Marinelli listed many different reasons for searching that particular vehicle registration, including “trespass,” “hit and run/car accident,” “curfew/loitering/vagrancy violations,” “alcohol offense (non-DUI),” “disorderly conduct/disturbance,” “destruction/damage/vandalization of property,” “assault/battery offenses,” “assault/battery offenses (domestic),” and “welfare check.”

“Nowhere in our local system could anything be located pertaining to this registration that would indicate it was being searched for any of those reasons,” the report stated.

He also conducted searches related to an ex-boyfriend of hers that he believed she might be cheating on him with, according to the investigating officer. Those searches were conducted over a period of five days in July.

When interviewed by the investigating officers, Sgt. Marinelli invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and chose not to provide a statement.

The investigating officer determined that Sgt. Marinelli violated the department’s policy on ALPR technology as well as other violations of department rules and regulations. He wrote that he believed “the Flock data shows Sgt. Marinelli was actively utilizing Flock as a form of electronic surveillance.”

New Bedford Community Response and Public Feedback Sought

In light of these findings, the NBPD is continuing to scrutinize its use of Flock and other technology. Thody has proposed some guardrails for its continued use, and is asking for public input on if they feel the use of Flock should continue under those new guidelines.

“Trust is not something I can restore with a press conference or a statement. It’s something we have to earn with our actions,” he said.

“The question before us should not simply be whether technology is good or bad. The better question is whether we can use an effective public safety tool while establishing safeguards strong enough to protect the public from misuse,” Thody said. “I believe we owe the community a thoughtful answer to that question.”

READ MORE: New Bedford Police Address Department's Use of Flock Cameras

While there is a loud portion of the public that does not want these cameras in use at all – as evidenced by their disruption of a New Bedford City Council meeting discussing Flock policies – the NBPD and the City of New Bedford are listening to all sides.

“We take the comments from the public seriously,” Mayor Mitchell said. “A lot has been said, some of it in the peak of emotion, but a lot of it we take very seriously, including police ability to track and monitor folks.”

Mitchell said the public’s opinions will be taken into account when deciding how to go forward, but so will the use of the technology, calling it “an exercise in balancing those interests against the very legitimate law enforcement interests that are in play.”

Proposed Guardrails for Future ALPR Use in New Bedford

The following are Chief Thody’s proposed guidelines if Flock technology is reactivated in New Bedford, as listed in the online survey:

1. Community & Stakeholder Working Group / Vendor Evaluation
Establishing a working group consisting of representatives from the NBPD, elected officials, and New Bedford residents and business owners to discuss the conditions under which New Bedford can continue the use of ALPR technology.

The working group would consider Flock Safety alongside other available ALPR vendors and technologies to determine whether another system may better align with our public safety goals, community expectations, privacy standards, data-governance requirements, and other objectives.

The evaluation could consider factors including data retention, data storage, outside-agency access, privacy protections, auditing capabilities, search requirements, prohibited uses, contractual safeguards, system functionality, cost, and the City's ability to maintain meaningful control over its data.

2. Data Retention
Data retention would be reduced from 30 days to 14 days. Longer retention could be permitted when data has evidentiary value in a specific investigation or when authorized by a warrant or court order.

3. Required Minimum Standard for Searches
Requiring reasonable suspicion as the minimum standard for ALPR searches associated with a specific active criminal investigation. There is no current requirement to conduct an ALPR search.

4. Documentation of Every Search
Requiring officers to document the legitimate law enforcement purpose for a search and the facts supporting it, creating a stronger audit trail. In addition to the current drop-down menu, officers would be required to write a supplemental report documenting the reasonable suspicion required to conduct the search.

5. Hot-List Management
A “hot list” is a list of vehicles or license plates associated with law enforcement alerts, such as stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing or endangered persons, or other active law enforcement matters.

Establishing clear requirements for how long locally entered hot-list information remains active and who is responsible for keeping it current. Hot-list information would be reviewed and audited daily to ensure alerts remain relevant and that outdated or stale information is removed from the system.

6. Mandatory Audits
Conducting regular monthly audits by the Professional Standards Unit and establishing procedures for identifying and investigating unusual search patterns or other anomalies.

7. Public Audit & Transparency Reporting
Publishing periodic reports regarding the department's use and auditing of the system, including aggregate search activity, audit findings, outside-agency access, identified policy violations, and corrective actions taken, while protecting confidential investigative information and personally identifiable information.

8. Mandatory Training
Requiring officers to complete training before receiving access to the system, and annual training in order to maintain their status as a user.

9. Specific Prohibited Uses
Clearly identifying uses that are prohibited, including using ALPR information for civil immigration enforcement or tracking individuals based solely on constitutionally protected activity.

10. Clear Disciplinary Consequences
Establishing serious disciplinary consequences for unauthorized or intentional misuse of the system, up to and including termination where warranted, as well as referral to POST, the District Attorney's Office, or other appropriate authorities when applicable.

11. Restrictions on Outside-Agency Access
Further restricting ALL outside-agency access to New Bedford ALPR data. Access could require affirmative approval and compliance with restrictions consistent with those imposed on New

12. Vendor Contractual Safeguards
Ensuring contracts clearly establish who may access data collected in New Bedford, how the data may be used and secured, when it must be deleted, and what the vendor may and may not do with it.

Those who wish to share their opinions can email the department at shareyourthoughts@newbedfordpd.com or fill out the online survey.