Rep. Karen Brownlee wants Ohio to halt every license plate reader camera in the state until lawmakers pass privacy protections.

Brownlee, a Democrat who represents Symmes Township in the Ohio House, issued a statement Thursday, Oct. 15, calling for an indefinite statewide pause on Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). The call came after Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced the indictment of Sharonville Police Lt. Walter Cordes, as reported by WLWT.

Cordes, 48, is charged with unauthorized use of a computer, cable or telecommunication property, a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to 12 months in prison. Investigators allege he used the Flock camera system 29 times between Dec. 19, 2024, and April 20, 2026, to track the vehicle of someone he knew for personal reasons, as WLWT reported. Investigators did not say why he was tracking the vehicle or reveal his relationship to the person, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The misuse surfaced in June during a department audit. Cordes, who was an administrator of the system, admitted to the searches, prosecutors said. Sharonville police placed him on unpaid administrative leave, cut his access to department systems and referred the case to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, according to a Sharonville police statement cited by the Enquirer.

"The abuse of Flock surveillance cameras represents a serious breach of public trust and raises broader concerns about the use of AI and surveillance technology," Brownlee said in her statement, as reported by WLWT.

She urged colleagues to pass legislation during the lame-duck session after the November election. She called for transparency from technology companies, limits on personal data collection and automatic safety tools in surveillance products.

The indictment lands in a region already wrestling with Flock cameras. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office permanently ended its 75-camera Flock network after suspending it Sept. 3, citing resident concerns about who outside the county could access the data, WCPO reported. That network cost roughly $225,000 a year. Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey noted at the time that two Flock cameras had been damaged in the Loveland area.

The Batavia Police Department also suspended its Flock cameras Oct. 14 while the village council reviews the program, according to the Clermont Guardian.

Closer to home, Milford Police Chief D. Jamey Mills addressed citizen concerns about the city's nine Flock cameras at an Aug. 18 council meeting, according to the Clermont Sun. Mills defended the cameras but said he supports state legislation making misuse a felony.

At the state level, Ohio lawmakers have introduced at least four bills targeting Flock cameras, ranging from felony penalties for misuse to an outright ban on government-operated mass surveillance networks, GovTech reported.

Sharonville Police Chief Jim Nesbit said his department will continue using Flock cameras but is moving toward manually spot-checking officers' searches and organizing new training, the Enquirer reported.

Cordes' arraignment date has not been announced.