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New Bedford, Mass. officer Emily Pacheco accused of using Flock cameras to track ex-girlfriend; judge found her a credible threat

New Bedford, Massachusetts police officer Emily Pacheco was served an abuse-prevention order on August 10, 2026, after her ex-girlfriend's sworn affidavit alleged Pacheco used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to track her, called her repeatedly from disguised numbers, and showed up unannounced at her home. Department data show Pacheco's Flock searches jumped from 18 in April, when the relationship ended, to 259 in May and 220 in June, and a judge found Pacheco poses a credible threat to the ex-girlfriend's physical safety, ordering her to surrender all firearms and suspending her license to carry -- an order extended for six months on August 13 after Pacheco testified the searches were part of a legitimate drug investigation. New Bedford police opened an internal-affairs investigation and Chief Jason Thody temporarily suspended the department's use of Flock pending a review of all past use, after The New Bedford Light asked the department about the allegations.

Part of: Police Using License-Plate Camera Networks to Stalk

Jurisdiction
Massachusetts
Location
New Bedford, Massachusetts

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Emily Pacheco (New Bedford Police Department officer)

On August 10, 2026, New Bedford, Massachusetts police officer Emily Pacheco was served an abuse-prevention order after her ex-girlfriend swore in a court affidavit that Pacheco had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) system to track her movements, called her repeatedly from disguised phone numbers, and showed up unannounced at her home in the months after their relationship ended in April 2026. New Bedford Police Department data obtained by The New Bedford Light show Pacheco's own Flock searches spiked from 18 in April to 259 in May and 220 in June, among the highest usage in the department that year. A judge found Pacheco poses a credible threat to the ex-girlfriend's physical safety, ordered her to surrender all firearms, and suspended her license to carry, effective immediately.

A judge extended the abuse-prevention order for six months at an August 13, 2026 hearing in New Bedford District Court, after Pacheco testified that her license-plate searches were part of a legitimate drug investigation rather than personal surveillance. Pacheco has not been criminally charged; the department placed her on restrictive duty on August 1 and later moved her to paid administrative leave while an internal-affairs investigation examines the searches.

Following inquiries from The New Bedford Light, Police Chief Jason Thody announced the department was temporarily suspending its use of the Flock system entirely, pending a review of all past use. Police union president Lorenzo Gonzalez and ACLU of Massachusetts attorney Gideon Epstein both commented publicly as the case drew scrutiny to the department's oversight of officers' access to the surveillance network.

Updates

2026-08-19 — Department audit finds a personal connection to searched plate [4]

Chief Thody said the department's own audit, which began July 31, 2026, found "a personal connection between the officer and an individual associated with a license plate that had been searched," but declined to elaborate further, citing the ongoing internal-affairs investigation.

2026-09-03 — Chief recommended firing Pacheco after finding her explanation not credible [5]

Chief Thody announced the internal-affairs investigation concluded Pacheco misused the department's Flock system and other department systems, rejected her account that the searches were part of a legitimate narcotics investigation as not credible, and recommended her termination. The same announcement disclosed a second, separately-found case of Flock misuse by another New Bedford officer, Sgt. James Marinelli, recorded as its own entry (local-improper-collection-or-dissemination-of-personal-data-13dfaf15).

Why we recorded this

Officers given access to government surveillance databases are trusted to use that access only for legitimate law-enforcement purposes, not to monitor people in their personal lives. New Bedford Police Department data show a New Bedford, Massachusetts officer's Flock license-plate-reader searches spiked from 18 in April, when her relationship with her girlfriend ended, to 259 in May and 220 in June -- and her ex-girlfriend's sworn affidavit says the officer used those searches, disguised-number calls, and unannounced visits to track her. A judge found the officer poses a credible threat to the ex-girlfriend's safety and ordered her firearms surrendered and license to carry suspended. This archive records officers converting public-safety surveillance tools into instruments of personal tracking, a recurring pattern serious enough here that the department suspended its entire Flock program pending a review of all past use.

Sources

  1. New Bedford police officer accused of using Flock cameras to track and follow ex-romantic partner — The New Bedford Light primary accessed September 3, 2026
  2. New Bedford suspends use of Flock cameras, officer accused of using system to track ex-girlfriend — CBS News Boston investigative accessed September 3, 2026
  3. New Bedford officer accused of using Flock camera to track ex-girlfriend to face judge — Turn to 10 (WJAR) investigative accessed September 3, 2026
  4. New Bedford police release more details on Flock cameras amid investigation of officer accused of tracking ex-girlfriend — Boston.com investigative accessed September 3, 2026
  5. Police chief recommends termination of 2 officers found to use Flock to track romantic partners — The New Bedford Light primary accessed September 4, 2026

See also