Liberty Or Lawbreaking? Camden Commissioner Investigated For Allegedly Cutting Down License Plate Reader

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Camden County Presiding Commissioner Ike Skelton could be charged with a crime, after he allegedly cut down a license plate reading device along Highway 54.

Skelton — a fiery, outspoken defender of individual liberty who made waves in 2023 by thumbing his nose at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms — allegedly removed a license plate reading device along Highway 54, in recent days.

The device is owned by Flock Group, Inc. The company has had an agreement — obtained by LakeExpo — with the Missouri Department of Public Safety since March of 2022. The agreement is called a "Government Agency Study Agreement" and the state DPS signed it under what the agreement calls a "yearlong study on the efficacy of license plate reader technology." The document does not stipulate an end-date to the camera usage agreement.

The agreement stipulates that the technology "is solely to facilitate gathering evidence that could be used in a criminal investigation by the appropriate government agency and not for tracking activities that the system is not designed to capture." However, the cameras are not limited to only capturing data related to a criminal investigation.

In January of 2024, the Camden County Commission passed a county ordinance banning the use of all automated license plate readers in the county (a 2023 ordinance had banned all static license plate readers, but the 2024 ordinance expanded that to include all automated license plate readers). In that ordinance, commissioners cited "numerous complaints" about the cameras "and the potential of unwarranted/inappropriate monitoring of its citizens [sic] freedom of movement and travel in violation of their right of privacy, unreasonable search and seizure and other constitutionally protected rights[.]"

The ordinance also stated, "Any Automated License Plate Readers currently in violation of this Ordinance shall be immediately removed. If identification of ownership is listed on any such device, the listed owner shall be notified to remove said device. Any device not removed within 30 days of notification to remove said device may be removed by Order of the Camden County Commission."

The ordinance and the DPS/Flock agreement can be found at the end of this article.

Camden County Prosecutor Richelle Grosvenor released a statement on Friday, Jan. 3, saying it would be a conflict of interest to investigate the allegations against another elected official in the county, so a special prosecutor would be assigned by the court to review the Missouri State Highway Patrol's (MSHP) investigation of the incident.

An MSHP spokesperson confirmed in an email to LakeExpo that the MSHP had been requested by Grosvenor's office to "investigate the theft of property along U.S. 54..." saying the investigation is "active and ongoing" and declining to comment further.

License plate readers have been controversial across the nation and even outside the U.S., with documented instances of infringements on individual civil rights. In one instance, a police chief was caught using a license plate reader to track his ex-girlfriend. A Dallas school used license plate readers to track people coming onto campus and bar them from entering if they had not complied with CDC protocols about Covid.

It's unknown whether Skelton will ultimately be charged with a crime related to the alleged removal of the license plate reader. But any legal action appears likely to highlight the conflict between the county ordinance and the DPS's use of the license plate readers, with citizens' constitutional rights at the center.

Download PDF