In June, the Richmond Police Department (RPD) discovered that an analyst from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had been using their license plate reader system for immigration enforcement. This was against RPD’s operational standards. The ATF analyst’s access was immediately revoked, and no federal agencies will have future access to the system.
“ATF is a valued partner in our efforts to combat violent crime in Richmond. But their analyst should not have been granted access to our system – and absolutely should not have used it for immigration enforcement purposes,” said RPD Chief Rick Edwards. “I’ve been clear with the public, with city leadership, and within this department: the Richmond Police Department does not enforce federal immigration law, and we do not investigate a person’s immigration status. If ATF had formally requested access for that purpose, I would have denied it.”
The incident began when the ATF analyst requested access on February 7, 2025, to aid investigations around Richmond. At that time, ATF was not involved in immigration enforcement. Access was granted by an RPD administrator who has since left the department. In March 2025, ATF’s mission expanded to include immigration enforcement.
Following an escape from an ICE detention facility in Farmville, Virginia in early March, the ATF analyst made numerous inquiries into RPD’s system to help apprehend escapees. The analyst queried 49 unique license plates receiving over 400 results; more than a quarter related to the Farmville incident.
The cases involved were mixed between traditional firearms offenses and those pursued by Homeland Security Investigations regarding immigration enforcement. According to ATF, all cases involving immigration had criminal elements.
On June 11, Flock Safety alerted RPD of two searches accessing Illinois vehicle data due to “ICE” being used in queries—violating Illinois law. Within five minutes of recognizing this violation, RPD terminated the analyst’s access.
An audit confirmed no other unauthorized users accessed the program. An internal investigation into how access was granted is ongoing.
RPD received media inquiries about searches showing “ICE” in logs between March 31 and April 9. A comprehensive investigation followed with meetings held between RPD leadership and ATF officials who agreed to provide more data on conducted searches.
“We value our partnership with the Richmond Police Department and regret that this situation occurred,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood. “Our ATF analyst accessed RPD’s system in support of ATF’s overall mission and although all queries involved criminal activity they were not in compliance with RPD’s guidelines.”
“It is frustrating this occurred,” said Chief Edwards. “However I appreciate ATF’s willingness to acknowledge what happened…we remain committed…but moving forward no federal agencies will have access…”
This decision underscores a commitment to lawful use aligning with Richmond’s values.
