Woman Spends 86 Hours In Solitary Confinement Due To Flock Cameras Despite Driving Car Of Different Color

Supporters of automated license plate readers such as Axon or Flock like to tell themselves that 24/7 government surveillance is good because these camera systems help track bad people who've done worse things. Sadly, reality isn't that simple. These systems get abused constantly by cops who can't be trusted, and when those systems make mistakes, innocent people get arrested. Even when authorities swear they'll do better, it still keeps happening. Like when 23-year-old Lindsey Isaacs ended up in jail for 13 days after a Flock mistake saw her charged with eight felonies she'd never committed. 

Isaacs recently testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, telling the story of how Florida Highway Patrol mixed up her car with another one, arrested her on vehicular homicide charges, and kept her in solitary confinement for 86 hours. It's a horrifying story, but our friends over at Gadget Report have a great summary of how we got here. Starting with how the cops ended up looking for a car like Isaacs' in the first place:

On Oct. 4, 2025, a crash on Interstate 4 in Volusia County killed three people. Investigators were searching for a Dodge Durango connected to the collision, according to WFTV and CBS12 reporting.

A Flock Safety camera recorded Isaacs' black Dodge Durango approximately two to three miles from the crash scene. According to Isaacs' testimony and subsequent reporting, that camera record became central to the investigation that led to her arrest.

Here is what that record actually established: a vehicle was near a location at a particular time. Automated license-plate recognition systems, or ALPR, generate investigative leads by capturing vehicle characteristics and plate data. They do not identify who was driving, and they do not establish that a vehicle caused a crash. Flock Safety has said publicly, per Atlanta News First reporting, that its cameras provide investigative leads and do not determine identity or guilt.

The cops investigating the crash reportedly saw a Durango was in the area, decided that Durango had to have been the one that was involved in the fatal crash, and went after it. There were, however, a few problems with that plan, such as reports that witnesses said the Durango they were looking for was a different color. And the fact that Isaacs' SUV wasn't banged up from a hit-and-run (you know, because she wasn't the one who did the hit-and-run). But other than those two things, the case was a slam dunk. 

Isaacs told the Senate committee the cops then threw her into solitary confinement for three-and-a-half days, claiming "isolation was required because of the severity of the charges and pending evaluation." Thankfully, they didn't keep her in the torture room any longer than that, but once she got out of solitary, things didn't get much better for Isaacs. From Gadget Report:

She was then moved to a mental-health unit for approximately 24 hours before being transferred to maximum-security housing. She remained there for the rest of her 13-day detention, according to her testimony and reporting by The Center Square.

Isaacs testified that at her lowest point, she did not want to live. That detail comes directly from her Senate testimony and has not been independently verified as a clinical or institutional finding.

Prosecutors eventually dropped all charges. A later investigation identified another woman, Alisa Montalvo, as the suspected driver in connection with the crash, according to Fox 35. Isaacs has since filed a civil lawsuit against Florida Highway Patrol troopers and the agency. Those claims remain allegations and have not been resolved by a court.

All that because the cops allegedly misused Flock, failed to do even basic police work to confirm they had the right person, arrested an innocent woman, and nearly let the actual guilty driver walk free. If that sounds fair to you, feel free to volunteer to do three and a half days in solitary and another 10 in jail. If you still think it's fine to do that to innocent people when you get out, maybe I'll be willing to change my mind. We'll see.