Officer accused of using Flock cameras to search ex-girlfriend’s plate more than 10,000 times

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE/Gray News) — A Texas police officer used a Flock license plate reader more than 10,000 times to track an ex-girlfriend, her family members and other people she had relationships with, according to an arrest affidavit.

Zachary Anthony Klein, 32, was indicted on charges of tampering with governmental records, abuse of official capacity and misuse of official information.

Klein is an officer with the Lufkin Police Department (LPD).

The charges came after the Texas Rangers investigated Klein’s alleged misuse of the Flock license plate reader system.

How the investigation started

According to the affidavit, the LPD received a public information request on Aug. 14 regarding Klein’s use of the Flock system. The LPD audited Klein’s searches and found they were inconsistent with criminal investigations before reporting the findings to the Texas Rangers.

On Aug. 18, an LPD officer told the investigating Texas Ranger that Klein had searched multiple license plates more than 1,000 times, and that several of the plates were tied to people Klein knew personally, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, the LPD said Klein mainly handled crash investigations and was not involved in long-term criminal investigations.

None of the people connected to the searched plates were involved in past or current LPD investigations, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that the audit showed the searches were made from a cell phone, but Klein had not been given a department-issued cell phone.

The affidavit also says Klein worked the day shift, but the Flock searches happened “nearly all hours of the day and night.”

The searches ranged from June 2024 to December 2025, according to the affidavit.

Ex-girlfriend’s plate searched more than 10,000 times

The affidavit states most of the searches were connected to one of Klein’s ex-girlfriends. Her license plate had been searched more than 10,000 times.

On Aug. 19, a Texas Ranger interviewed people whose license plates Klein had searched more than 100 times, according to the affidavit. Most had connections to the ex-girlfriend as family members, past romantic interests or romantic interests of Klein’s.

The ex-girlfriend told investigators she and Klein dated twice, beginning in 2022 and again in 2023, according to the affidavit. She told investigators Klein was “obsessed” with the idea she was cheating on him and would often look through her phone.

The affidavit states the ex-girlfriend claimed she was familiar with Flock cameras and said that Klein would sometimes get Flock alerts on his phone.

According to the affidavit, the ex-girlfriend also told investigators that Klein had, at one point, threatened to find and kill someone she had a prior relationship with.

Klein had also made searches for that prior partner’s license plate, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses describe ties to Klein’s ex-girlfriend

According to the affidavit, a witness confirmed he owned a truck whose license plate was searched and said he was communicating with the ex-girlfriend around March 2025.

A third witness also confirmed a prior relationship with the ex-girlfriend.

The affidavit states that two of the ex-girlfriend’s family members confirmed they owned other vehicles whose license plates were searched and had let the ex-girlfriend use them.

Victim describes Klein’s behavior

Another witness told investigators that a vehicle registered to him — and driven by his “soon-to-be ex-wife” — had its license plate searched. He said she had an affair with Klein that was discovered more than six months earlier, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that woman confirmed she had a relationship with Klein in early 2025.

On Aug. 20, Klein was booked into the Angelina County Jail. His bond has been set at $700,000. Klein’s arraignment date has not been set.

LPD Chief Travis Brazil said the department has suspended use of the Flock cameras while the investigation continues.