Police cameras in small Kansas town catch Georgia murder suspect, officials say

Recently installed Flock Safety cameras in Rose Hill have led to the arrest of a murder suspect connected to a November killing in Georgia, the Rose Hill Police Department said Friday.

“The plate was captured coming into Rose Hill several times since May 1st,” the police department said in a Facebook post. “US Marshals closed in on the suspect and were able to arrest him in a neighboring city while he was driving for work.”

The Facebook post started by saying that the “FLOCK CAMERAS PAY OFF 1 MONTH AFTER BEING INSTALLED.” The city council had approved the purchases and three more cameras are still waiting to be installed.

Since they were installed in early April, the first two cameras have logged 78,000 license plates, the post says.

Flock Safety cameras can search for license plates and certain makes and models of vehicles, then alert police when they are found. Some argue the technology is an overreach and violation of privacy.

In the Facebook post, the police department linked to a news article detailing more about the arrest. According to the WTVM article, 52-year-old Chris Binns was arrested Thursday in connection to the killing of 50-year-old Kerry Binns in a Columbus, Georgia, apartment.

A former Kechi lieutenant was put on probation last month for using Wichita Police Department’s Flock cameras to stalk his estranged wife. Flock says the incident with the Kechi officer is the first report they’ve had about an officer abusing the system.

This story was originally published May 13, 2023 at 12:30 PM.