July 27, 2026 – PASADENA, Texas — The Pasadena City Council held a heated discussion during last week’s meeting regarding the oversight and potential abuse of the city’s Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) system. The public debate follows the sudden resignation of a veteran police sergeant who stepped down amid an active internal investigation into personal misuse of the surveillance technology.
Allegations and Investigation
The department launched an internal probe after receiving flags about unusual activity within its license plate reader database. According to city officials, the system detected an unusually high volume of account pings, uncovering repetitive searches traced directly back to Pasadena Police Sergeant Michael Palitz.
Investigators allege that beginning in March 2025, Palitz abused his access to the Flock network to track and stalk a female police officer for personal, non-law enforcement reasons.
Palitz resigned from the force while under investigation. However, department officials confirmed that his departure will not stop the inquiry, and the internal probe remains active to determine the full scope of the breach and whether formal criminal charges or state certification revocations will follow.
Broader Political Backlash Across Texas and Capitol Hill
The incident in Pasadena is reigniting fierce legislative debates surrounding public privacy, police oversight, and the expanding footprint of automated surveillance systems…