Smithfield police shared license-plate-reader data with the FBI without the court order or subpoena that Virginia law requires, a disclosure that surfaced as investigators traced the gun used in the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University. The data sharing came as the FBI sought information on the day of the shooting, and the material was later passed from the bureau to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rather than handed over directly by Smithfield police.
The episode was reported by The Virginian-Pilot, whose staff writer Peter Dujardin found that a Smithfield police officer provided the Flock data to the FBI even though Virginia law restricts sharing such information with federal agencies and out-of-state police departments without a warrant or subpoena. Chris Meier, representing Smithfield, said the department believed state law permitted the exchange because it considered the FBI a law enforcement agency — an interpretation Virginia’s statute does not support, since the law defines eligible agencies as Virginia state and local police only and explicitly excludes the FBI. Chris Kaiser said the data sharing appeared to violate Virginia law, and the ACLU of Virginia pushed for the Smithfield officer involved to face charges.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Georgette Phillips said she would not charge the officer, according to the Pilot’s reporting; Meier told Phillips about the data sharing roughly 10 days before the story published. Smithfield Police Chief Alonzo Howell did not return a phone call seeking comment, per the same account, and FBI spokeswoman Cassandra Temple declined to explain how the bureau accessed the Smithfield data or whether it had obtained a subpoena or court order. ATF said it received the Flock data from the FBI rather than directly from Smithfield police.
How the Cameras Connected to the ODU Shooting
The shooting unfolded March 12 when Mohamed Jalloh, a former ODU student with a prior terrorism-related conviction, opened fire during an ROTC class, killing Army ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and wounding two cadets before students subdued him and one stabbed him to death. Flock cameras at Route 10 and Main Street in Smithfield captured images on March 5 and March 11 of the rented Nissan Altima that Jalloh drove to the campus, according to The Smithfield Times. An ATF affidavit reported that the two cameras closest to the Smithfield residence of Kenya Chapman, who was charged with selling Jalloh the handgun used in the attack, captured those same images of the rented Altima…