LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A Lexington couple is questioning the city's use of Flock cameras after police arrived at their home with guns drawn early Saturday morning while investigating a violent road-rage incident.
Will Penn and Robin Pen say multiple officers surrounded their property at 3:56 a.m. Saturday. Ring doorbell footage shows police vehicles pulling up, and by 4:08 a.m., spotlights were shining on the home as officers surrounded it.
Officers knocked on the door and asked the couple where they had been.
"There was an incident tonight in which the vehicle we are trying to find is nearly identical to yours," an officer said.
Penn and Pen say they told officers they had just gotten home from a taco truck. Officers told them they were not in trouble, and the couple went back inside. Officers remained outside for several more minutes before leaving.
After reviewing the Ring footage, the couple realized several officers had been armed ,with Penn's 94-year-old grandmother inside the home.
"I never truly believed this would happen to me at all," Penn said.
"My blood pressure didn't go down for about an hour until after the incident," Pen said.
Penn said the armed response in the early morning hours was alarming.
"Given how the situation was with weapons and 4 o'clock in the morning, I mean, it's shocking. It really is. My grandmother was scared to death," Penn said.
Lexington Police Commander Daniel Burnett says officers were investigating a felony assault, which required a large police response.
"Every situation is different, and our officers adjust their tactics," Burnett said.
Lexington police say this was not a case of misidentification, officers were simply following up on a lead that turned out to be wrong.
The victim in the road-rage incident provided a detailed description of a dark-colored Ram 2500, but did not provide a license plate number. Officers entered that information into the Flock system and found a vehicle they believed matched: Penn's truck.
"The victim gave a detailed accounting of the events which included a description of the suspect and the suspect's vehicle," Burnett said.
Officers showed the Flock image of the vehicle to the victim, who confirmed it.
"The officers actually showed an image of that vehicle to the victim. The victim was very confident that that was the same vehicle," Burnett said.
That Flock image led officers to Penn and Pen's home. Burnett says automated license plate readers are used to generate investigative leads, not to prove a vehicle is connected to a crime.
"They are simply just an investigative lead and resource like lots of other information that law enforcement has access to," Burnett said.
Penn and Pen say they are still waiting for answers and believe the technology needs more review before it is used.
"I feel like they're not doing their investigation work properly like they used to and they're just jumping the gun on it," Penn said.
