Red-handed: WKYT pushed nonexistent police audit of FLOCK cameras, maintained false statements even after learning no audit was done

Lexington, Kentucky’s current CBS affiliate WKYT has a bit of a love affair with the Lexington Police Department’s FLOCK license plate reader cameras, it seems. Just yesterday, they published a story that reads like an LPD press release on how the cameras helped catch an alleged Michigan criminal. The story is part of an entire promotional series WKYT is doing to push the cameras, which activists say unfairly target minority communities.

WKYT’s response to local activists’ outcry over their biased reporting? They didn’t bother to, you know, talk to some of the local activists who had concerns, instead they asked a Lexington Police Commander about them:

When the program was first announced, there were concerns about privacy and targeting information. Greathouse said they’ve conducted audits and have found no inaccuracies.

https://www.wkyt.com/2022/09/06/flock-cameras-appear-be-paying-off-according-lexington-police/

The only problem? Yeah, no audits have actually been conducted. The police commander was lying and WKYT did not even bother to fact check him. That story was done by Kelsey Souto.

No correction from WKYT, despite confirmation the audits do not exist

Ten days after the audit story premiered, WKYT’s Garret Wymer, who did not write the original story, placed an open records request for the audits. He already knew what the results would be, however, because The Lexington Times had already done the work for him and obtained proof no audits were ever done! (Wymer’s request was obtained via our own open records request)

While Wymer suppressed the results of his records request, the results clearly show that no audit was ever conducted on the FLOCK cameras. The LPD Commander was lying, and Wymer colluded to help him push his lies.

Because these cameras target minority communities, and Wymer is actively assisting a racist institution by concealing information from the public, there is enough evidence to conclude that WKYT’s Garrett Wymer is pushing a racist agenda in Lexington, Kentucky. While it is clear from her false reporting that Kelsey Souto is not a competent reporter and does not fact check her stories, there is not enough evidence to prove that she is also pushing a racist agenda.

Wymer did not respond to an email and text message requesting comment for this story.

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This story is part 2 of a series on local media in Lexington, Ky intentionally pushing racism and white supremacist agendas.

Read part 1 here:
Smoking gun: How LEX18 fabricated a poll to help the Lexington Police Department’s sagging image