Mason Grimmett, a longtime Wichita resident and member of Kansas’ Sunflower Privacy Alliance, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Wichita over its use of a warrantless Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system. Represented by the Kansas Justice Institute (KJI), Grimmett filed the suit on Thursday, July 30th, 2026, in Sedgwick County District Court.

The lawsuit contends that Wichita’s ALPR system, operated by Flock Safety, Inc., violates the Kansas Constitution by continuously tracking, surveilling, and compiling a searchable database on law-abiding citizens without warrants, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion. According to KJI, the extensive ALPR network makes it impossible for Grimmett to go about daily activities such as work, gym visits, doctor appointments, voting, or meetings without being monitored and cataloged by the Wichita Police Department and Flock Safety.

The complaint argues that the Kansas Constitution does not permit the government to subject every citizen to persistent, AI-powered surveillance merely to aid in catching a few criminals after the fact. It emphasizes that Kansans should not have to forfeit their right to privacy and freedom from government tracking when leaving their homes.

The case highlights previous incidents involving misuse of the Flock system: former police officer Victor Heiar was convicted in 2023 of computer crime and stalking after using the system to track his estranged wife; former Sedgwick Police Chief Lee Nygaard admitted to tracking his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend 228 times in 2023; and a Kansas couple, Matthew and Leah Spurlock, were confronted at gunpoint after their vehicle’s license plate was mistakenly flagged by Flock cameras as matching a stolen truck, according to reports.

The lawsuit challenges what it describes as indiscriminate and warrantless dragnet surveillance of all drivers in Wichita, raising significant privacy and constitutional questions about the use of ALPR technology.

Sources

  • Daily Caller (Abigail Archer, July 30, 2026)
  • The Kansas Sentinel
  • The Wichita Eagle
  • KAKE News