New Bedford, Mass. Sgt. James Marinelli used Flock cameras to track a woman he was dating, department finds
New Bedford, Massachusetts police announced on September 3, 2026 that an internal-affairs investigation, opened August 5, 2026, found Sgt. James Marinelli misused the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to track a woman he was dating and her ex-partner, entering pretextual justifications such as trespass, hit-and-run, disorderly conduct, and welfare-check codes to run the searches. Police Chief Jason Thody recommended Marinelli's termination; Marinelli invoked his Fifth Amendment right and declined to give a statement during the investigation. The finding was disclosed alongside a separate, unrelated internal-affairs finding against another New Bedford officer, Emily Pacheco, recorded as its own entry.
Part of: Police Using License-Plate Camera Networks to Stalk
Actors
- James Marinelli (New Bedford Police Department sergeant)
New Bedford, Massachusetts police announced on September 3, 2026 that an internal-affairs investigation had found Sgt. James Marinelli misused the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) system to track a woman he was dating and her ex-romantic partner, entering seemingly legitimate law-enforcement justifications -- including trespass, hit-and-run, disorderly conduct, and welfare-check codes -- to run searches that were actually personal. The internal investigation opened August 5, 2026, after The New Bedford Light inquired about Marinelli's searches; the underlying audit that surfaced them was the same department-wide review, ordered July 31, 2026, that also surfaced a separate case of Flock misuse by another New Bedford officer, Emily Pacheco, recorded as its own entry (local-improper-collection-or-dissemination-of-personal-data-3e1898ed).
Police Chief Jason Thody recommended Marinelli's termination. As a union member, Marinelli is entitled to a hearing before any firing becomes final. During the internal investigation, Marinelli invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to provide a statement.
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, Massachusetts police found that Sgt. James Marinelli used the department's Flock license-plate-reader system to track a woman he was dating and her ex-partner, entering pretextual law-enforcement justifications to run the searches. This is a second, independently-found instance of Flock misuse disclosed the same day as a separate New Bedford officer's case, and this archive records each officer's conduct as its own entry rather than folding them together, consistent with how it treats other multi-officer disclosures from a single audit.
Sources
- Police chief recommends termination of 2 officers found to use Flock to track romantic partners — The New Bedford Light primary accessed September 4, 2026
- New Bedford police chief recommends firing 2 officers following Flock camera investigation — Turn to 10 (WJAR) investigative accessed September 4, 2026
See also
- CBP sought private contractors to track down and photograph deported people's homes abroad to collect fines
- Mooresville, NC officer misused Flock license-plate cameras 31 times to track boyfriend's ex-wife
- Six Savannah Police Department employees misused Flock license-plate camera system for personal searches; all fired
- Former Polk County, Georgia officer arrested for misusing Cedartown PD's Flock license-plate system via task-force access
- New Bedford, Mass. officer Emily Pacheco accused of using Flock cameras to track ex-girlfriend; judge found her a credible threat
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