Overview
- A federal jury found Monday that Bexar County deputies violated Alek Schott’s Fourth Amendment rights and awarded him $76 for a stop and search during a March 22, 2022 trip.
- Trial evidence showed Schott’s trip was flagged by a network of automatic license-plate readers and an alert circulated to deputies through an opaque WhatsApp chat called the Northwest Highway Group.
- Deputies pulled Schott over for an alleged lane violation that his dashcam did not show, questioned him at length and summoned a drug dog whose alert led to a search that recovered no contraband.
- The dog’s handler later reported seeing trace ‘specks’ of marijuana that were never collected or tested and do not appear on bodycam footage, a discrepancy highlighted in court records.
- The Institute for Justice says it will seek an injunction to block the stop-and-search methods and fees for Schott while Bexar County has said it will appeal, a fight that could prompt wider scrutiny of ALPR-driven policing and fusion-center tips.