The Oakland Police Department illegally shared surveillance data with federal agencies, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The complaint against the city of Oakland, filed by privacy nonprofit Secure Justice, accuses the department of violating state law by sharing sensitive data from automated license plate readers with federal law enforcement, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Oakland has exposed countless individuals to grave harm from the Trump administration’s hate-filled policies and invaded the privacy rights of individuals not suspected of any wrongdoing,” says the lawsuit, which was filed in Alameda County Superior Court.
The Standard reported in July that OPD allowed other local police departments to search its license plate database for federal investigations more than 200 times. Police departments across California, including in San Francisco, have since been found to have engaged in the same practice.
The automated license plate readers, made by Flock Safety, capture images of every passing vehicle, then store them in a database for use in investigations. Oakland police are permitted to operate a network of 290 plate-reading cameras, the lawsuit says.
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Under a decade-old California law (opens in new tab), police are prohibited from sharing license plate data with out-of-state agencies regardless of the reason for the search.
The data sharing by the OPD was roundabout: In most cases, the department allowed police from other cities to tap into its data, and those agencies made searches of the database that were marked as related to federal agencies.
An April query by the California Highway Patrol was labeled “ICE case,” raising concerns that the data sharing violated sanctuary laws.
“OPD has no idea its data is being searched and does not know in real time the reason(s) why,” the lawsuit says.
In several instances, however, OPD made direct searches of its database related to federal investigations, according to its logs.
The OPD did not respond to a request for comment. The CHP has not provided an explanation for its search.
Police have said these controversial cameras help them fight crime. But reporting by The Standard, 404 Media (opens in new tab), and others found the technology has also helped U.S. authorities ensnare noncriminals and undocumented immigrants in their data dragnets.
In a July meeting of Oakland’s Public Safety Committee, OPD officials accused The Standard of being an “outside actor” that is “driving a wedge between the community and the department” by highlighting “outlier incidents to undermine the use of technology while ignoring the overall benefit to the community.”
This is not the first time Secure Justice has sued Oakland. In 2023, the group reached a settlement with the OPD over similar data-sharing practices. The department at the time pledged to abide by state surveillance laws.
The OPD previously pledged to review “whether any actions conducted by OPD officers are inconsistent with our department policies” but has not provided updates.
“Despite the negative media attention and litigation threat, OPD has not changed any of its ALPR practices,” Secure Justice claims in the lawsuit.
Secure Justice is seeking “the most aggressive relief the Court can provide, including but not limited to terminating the use of these technologies.”
In October, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued (opens in new tab) El Cajon for allegedly sharing license plate reader data with out-of-state agencies.