Brown County Sheriff’s Department in Wisconsin used Flock cameras, which record the license plates of every vehicle that passes by them, to identify and arrest a resident of Wisconsin for purchasing marijuana. Per the report, the cops used Flock’s network of cameras to track the man as he drove from Wisconsin, where possession remains a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense, to Michigan, where recreational weed purchase and possession are legal.

Per the report, the cops looked up his license plate and found that he “travels to Michigan frequently.” Of course, they couldn’t prove by the cameras alone that he was going to Michigan to buy weed. But apparently just going across state lines is enough to create suspicion. In a criminal complaint filed by the police against the man, they call Michigan a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there.”

    • krakenx@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      The searches came to light in a Wisconsin criminal complaint against Edward Abrams-Phillips, who was wanted for bail jumping on domestic violence charges. But the criminal complaint makes clear that beyond the bail jumping and domestic violence charges, police specifically studied Abrams-Phillips’ interstate travel to create the pretext for searching his car for marijuana. The bail jumping charge was dismissed; Abrams-Phillips was found guilty only of weed possession in the case, according to the court records.

      So they did have probable cause in this case since they were already tracking him and he wasn’t allowed to leave the state.

      • Gumby@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Where did you find this? It’s not in the article. Also, this doesn’t specifically say that he wasn’t allowed to leave the state. I don’t know enough about bail rules to know whether that would automatically be the case or not.