A Milwaukee woman who was pulled over at gunpoint by police in Wisconsin after her vehicle was incorrectly flagged by Flock cameras has retained high-profile attorney B'Ivory LaMarr.
Amber Newell was stopped on I-94 after her vehicle was flagged as being connected to a homicide. But the alert was outdated; Milwaukee police failed to remove her vehicle from the Flock database after it had already been investigated. Newell was not involved in the homicide.
Milwaukee police say human error, not a Flock system issue, caused Newell's car to remain flagged.
Newell says the stop has upended her life.
"It was a nightmare, it is a nightmare," Newell said. "I lost my job, not only one job, I lost two jobs behind this, because me being stopped on the highway."
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LaMarr announced this week that he had been retained by Newell. He says they are seeking accountability from the city of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Police Department.
"We would hope the city of Milwaukee represents themselves with integrity and say, you know what, this was a mishap. We should take responsibility and make things right with Ms. Newell," LaMarr said.
LaMarr says they are filing a notice of claim by the end of the week and hope to avoid a full lawsuit, but will file if necessary.
Newell's case has become part of a broader national conversation about Flock camera use, which has local ties to multiple cases of alleged misuse by Milwaukee police officers.
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"While we are a proponent of technology and we welcome advances in technology, we want to make sure that this conversation is also had that the use of the technology is done responsibly," LaMarr said.
This article was written by Brendyn Jones for the Scripps News Group station in Milwaukee.
