Wisconsin woman wrongfully arrested twice due to police surveillance error

A Wisconsin woman, Amber Newell, was twice arrested at gunpoint after a failure within the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to update the Flock surveillance system. Newell’s vehicle had been incorrectly flagged in connection with a July homicide investigation, but an MPD employee failed to remove the alert from the automated license plate reader system.

The error resulted in two separate incidents where Newell was confronted by police on the highway, arrested at gunpoint, and had her vehicle impounded. Bodycam footage from the Brookfield Police Department shows officers surrounding her car on I-94 with weapons drawn.

Newell, a resident of Brookfield, stated that the ordeal has been a “nightmare” and resulted in the loss of two jobs. While authorities previously released her vehicle to her, the car remained incorrectly flagged in the Flock system, leading to the subsequent law enforcement encounters.