A Boyfriend Confused a Blood Clot for Fetal Remains, Called the Cops, and 83,000 License-Plate Cameras Lit Up to Track His Partner Over an Abortion

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Close-up of a California Sesquicentennial license plate reading 4BNT554 mounted on a chrome vehicle bumper.
Ed Parker / Unsplash

No warrant. No judge. Just a logged search reason that read “had an abortion, search for female,” pulling from 6,809 police networks in states where abortion is legal. The sheriff who ran the office has since been charged with perjury and workplace sexual harassment in unrelated cases.

The search reason a Johnson County deputy typed into the system was “had an abortion, search for female.” That query ran on May 9, 2025, sweeping Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers across 6,809 law enforcement networks nationwide, including Washington and Illinois, where abortion is legal.

The self-managed abortion had actually happened about two weeks earlier, around April 23. The woman’s partner reported it later, presenting what he described as fetal remains and “a large amount of blood.” A medical examiner later determined it was a blood clot, not a fetus. He was subsequently arrested on domestic violence charges against her.

Solar-powered Flock Safety Raven surveillance device mounted on a blue pole against a clear blue sky.
A Flock Safety Raven gunshot detection and sensor unit, solar-powered and pole-mounted, of the type used by police departments across the country to feed data into shared surveillance networks. Photo by Nathan Papes / Springfield News-Leader via Reuters Connect.

Deputies located the woman in the Dallas area within days, not through the Flock sweep (which turned up only an older sighting of her car) but through other leads. They spoke with her, confirmed she was fine, and never charged her. The death investigation stayed open for weeks as deputies reviewed texts and other material, but no prosecution followed.

Smiling man in black sheriff's uniform with gold badge and white cowboy hat, standing before a Texas flag.
An official portrait of the Johnson County Sheriff, wearing a white cowboy hat and black uniform with a gold star badge, posed in front of a Texas state flag. Credit: Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Adam King and Flock Safety first described the search as a welfare check on a woman who self-administered an abortion, not a criminal case. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s review of court records and affidavits found deputies had already discussed potential criminal charges with prosecutors. King has since been charged in unrelated matters, including perjury and workplace sexual harassment.

Flock searches are logged but require no judicial approval, and the reciprocal national sharing model is what let a single Texas query reach thousands of cameras in states with abortion protections. Illinois has since moved to restrict some out-of-state access to its plate data, and members of Congress are pressing for answers on oversight and warrant requirements. Privacy advocates call it “function creep,” a tool built to find stolen cars and missing people quietly turned on something else.

A hand holding a smartphone in front of a police car with flashing red and blue lights at night.
A hand holds a smartphone toward a police car with flashing red and blue emergency lights, with officers visible in the blurred background. Photo by Daniel / Adobe Stock.

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