The horror of having to prove one’s innocence against the supposedly incontrovertible evidence of artificial intelligence powered mass surveillance is no longer limited to science fiction. For two agonizing weeks, that was my life.
“You know we have cameras in that town, and you can’t get a breath of fresh air in or out of that place without us knowing, correct?” That’s what Sgt. Jamie Milliman of the Columbine Valley Police Department said to me on my front porch when he presented me with a court summons for stealing a package from a home in Bow Mar. “There is no doubt. I wouldn’t have come here unless I was 100% sure.” He told me.
But I never stole that package.
What proof did they have to connect me to the crime? Camera footage from automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, showing my green truck driving through town the day the theft occurred.
Recently, many cities in Colorado — including Bow Mar and Denver — have installed these small cameras to constantly monitor roadways, snapping a photo of every single car that drives by and saving it to a central database that can then be accessed and searched by law enforcement without a warrant. Between 11:52 a.m. and 12:09 p.m., on Sept. 27, 2025, my car was captured on Bow Mar’s cameras.
Even though I immediately offered to provide Sgt. Milliman with proof that I could not have committed the theft, it didn’t matter. Because of the evidence he had, there was “no doubt” that I had stolen the package.
I work in an industry where trust is everything. The mere accusation of theft could end my career, let alone ruin my reputation with my friends, family and community. To clear my name, my husband and I put together a digital war chest of evidence proving without a shadow of a doubt that I was innocent. We pulled together video evidence from my truck, GPS evidence from my cellphone, which created and provided timelines of what I did that day, and anything else we could find to show I did not steal that package.
I tried desperately to reach someone, anyone from Bow Mar or Columbine Valley who would listen. I started with the Columbine Valley police chief for a week, then moved up to town administrators, and finally the mayor of Bow Mar. I was passed around, ignored and stonewalled for 14 days.
While these leaders were too busy to return my calls, the Columbine Valley Police Department was active on the Neighbors app, publicly posting my vehicle and soliciting “more evidence” from the public. They were crowdsourcing a conviction for a crime I did not commit, while the people in charge of the department refused to grant me 5 minutes of their time.
When the police chief finally looked at the evidence, he sent a flippant email saying, “nicely done, btw” as if my exoneration was a school project and not the recovery of my life.
After two weeks, the summons was dropped.
My story highlights the fundamental danger of unchecked surveillance technology: It creates an illusion of omniscience that replaces police work with algorithmic arrogance. Nobody should have to endure what I went through. It’s time for our elected officials to act.
This year, state Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, introduced Senate Bill 70 to create stronger regulations for ALPRs in Colorado. The guardrails this bill would put in place would help ensure there is greater accountability in how these systems are used, how the information is maintained and when it can be accessed. The bill — which has bipartisan support in the legislature, as well as support from organizations such as the Institute for Justice, ACLU and other activists — has been referred to the Senate Appropriations committee.
Right now, drivers across the state are passing these cameras, unaware that their information is being recorded, stored and accessed by law enforcement agencies — some of whom may not even be in Colorado. I never thought that simply going about my daily routine could have inadvertently connected me to a crime I never committed because of the shoddy use of this technology.
These are powerful tools. Tools that can easily be misused or abused. We need to make sure that the way this technology is deployed in our communities aligns with our values and truly keeps us safe. Without sensible legislation, stories like mine and others who have been in the news will continue to occur.
Chrisanna Elser, of Denver, is a Certified Financial Planner with more than two decades in the financial services industry.
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