A local activist known for her confrontations with police has found a new tool to shed light on law enforcement activities: public license plate tracking data.
Melissa Hill, an Occupy Minnesota activist who recently won a $15,000 settlement form Hennepin County following a trespassing arrest, has recently started a blog that shows where license plate readers have spotted law enforcement vehicles.
Hill requested the public location data this October from the Minneapolis Police Department on 16 law enforcement vehicles she had seen around the city.
She is encouraging others to do the same and submit their data via e-mail.
Her first post on a car includes a photo of what appears to be an FBI vehicle, along with a Google Map showing when plate readers have spotted it.
"If they want to watch us, we'll watch them back!" Hill writes.
