FORT PIERCE, FL - The Fort Pierce Police Department (FPPD) announced it will be tightening the rules around its Flock camera system after a former officer was arrested for misuse.
Officers with FPPD can no longer run a license plate through the Flock camera system on their own. Instead, one of the department's two deputy chiefs must sign off on the request, and only lieutenants and above can access the system altogether, CBS12 reported.
Chief David Smith rolled out several new restrictions this week after a former officer was arrested and accused of using the system to search for a woman he once dated 382 times. "The cameras are here for our community's safety, not to be abused by those who were entrusted to safeguard them," Smith said.
Under the new rules, every query must be tied to a case number, and the system can only be used in two situations: investigations of forcible felonies as defined under Florida law and cases involving missing or endangered people.
"The system will not be used for general investigative surveillance, intelligence gathering unrelated to an authorized investigation, or routine investigative inquiries," Smith said. The department is also holding onto far less of the data it collects. Smith said Flock camera records are now deleted after seven days instead of 30.
During a news conference, Smith laid out how the process works on the ground. If detectives at a shooting or other serious scene believe the cameras could help, the lieutenant on scene calls one of the two deputy chiefs and explains what they want to search and why.
"If they receive approval, then that lieutenant would be the one to do the query for that information. And that would require a case number specifically tied to an investigation," Smith said.
Prior to this change, individual officers and detectives had their own user access and could search the system directly. Smith also created a new position in the department's Office of Professional Standards to conduct monthly quality assurance audits of every law enforcement database officers use, not just Flock.
"Accountability requires meaningful controls, supervision, and verification," Smith said. The chief said he started reviewing the department's technology policies after becoming chief in February and had already begun a one-year audit of database usage before the media brought the allegations against former officer Josepher Crutchfield to the department in August.
He said the deputy chief approval and lieutenant-only access rules were added after that investigation began. Earlier changes to the policies took place roughly two months ago.
"This case demonstrates that the safeguards that were in place were not sufficient," Smith said. "What we learned through this investigation reinforced the need for the changes that were already underway, and it made clear that we needed to go significantly further, and we have."
Crutchfield was arrested on Tuesday, September 8, on four felony counts of unauthorized computer access and was being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on an $80,000 bond. Police say he searched the same license plate 382 times between October 2025 and July 2026, most of the time while off duty. The plate reportedly belonged to a woman he had dated.
Investigators say he also searched for her in the FCIC, NCIC, DAVID and TLO databases, some of that going back to 2023. He resigned in August before the investigation concluded.
The department's broader audit is still ongoing. Smith said no additional violations have been found so far. The new rules land as Fort Pierce is also pulling cameras off the road. The chief said the department will comply with a recent Florida Department of Transportation directive and the St. Lucie County Commission's directive covering license plate readers on state and county rights-of-way.
He estimated about 50 cameras will come down, leaving roughly 20 on city roads. He said the department is still working on a removal plan and that it will take some time. Smith defended the technology even as he restricted it, saying the cameras were integral to solving every homicide the city has closed recently. They were also instrumental in identifying the driver in the hit-and-run that seriously injured a seven-year-old girl.
"I understand the debate. I understand why people are having that discussion about the use of Flock systems. But it is an immensely useful tool to law enforcement," Smith said.
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