OAKLAND — A Bay Area man who advocates for privacy rights filed a lawsuit against three Contra Costa County sheriff employees, alleging that he was nearly arrested after a police license plate reader mistakenly flagged his car as stolen.
Brian Hofer, 41, filed the federal lawsuit in November, seeking unspecified damages. The suit names three sheriff employees as defendants — Deputy “K. Emley,” Deputy “B. Gant,” and Sgt. “W. Odom” — and alleges police held Hofer and his brother at gunpoint after their rental car was wrongfully reported as stolen.
Iroincally, Hofer is chair of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission, which has raised privacy concerns over law enforcement use of license plate readers.
The suit alleges that in November, the deputies pulled Hofer and his brother over, brought them out of the car at gunpoint and handcuffed them. It claims they were detained until after police called the rental agency and verified the car was not stolen.
“I thought I had a taillight out,” Hofer said in an interview. Then, “they went cowboy on us and pulled guns out. They didn’t ask for IDs or nothing.”
Hofer said the deputies also illegally searched his trunk and luggage and used excessive force. His brother was thrown to the ground while he had his hands on his head and suffered injuries, Hofer said. One badly injured finger likely will require surgery.
A Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman did not immediately return requests for comment, but the agency released this statement to a KTVU reporter: “The deputy sheriffs involved in this case followed procedure and acted appropriately. The vehicle was reported stolen. As the car was occupied, a high-risk enforcement stop was conducted. Once it was confirmed the driver was not a suspect, he was removed from the patrol car and the handcuffs removed. He was released at the scene.”
Several police agencies have contracts with a Livermore company, Vigilant Solutions, to use plate readers on police cars as well as fixed locations. The contracts typically give the police departments access to a massive database of license plate data.
The plate readers search for cars that are reported stolen or associated with abductions and folks with arrest warrants. They also record patterns in drivers’ activity, such as the same car driving past a particular plate reader over and over. In 2017, plate readers were installed across Contra Costa County following a string of freeway shootings.
Hofer said he and his brother were returning from a Thanksgiving trip when a stationary camera on Interstate 80 in West Contra Costa County read the license plate of his rental car. San Jose police had earlier reported the car stolen.
“We still have no idea how I was able to rent this car that was (reported) stolen,” Hofer said. “San Jose police that reported it stolen doesn’t know; everybody is passing the buck.”