Georgia deputy arrested over Flock misuse

The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a second deputy over alleged misuse of the agency’s automated license plate reader system, Flock Safety. Former deputy Jonathan Thomas was fired and charged with felony violation of oath of office and misdemeanor misuse of license plate data. Thomas allegedly used the system to track someone with whom he had a personal relationship.

The arrest came shortly after another deputy, Christian Brewer, was charged with similar misconduct. Brewer was accused of tracking a personal acquaintance using the license plate database. The internal audit of the Flock Safety system, initiated following Brewer’s arrest in late July, uncovered the second deputy’s alleged misuse.

Habersham County Sheriff Robin Krockum emphasized that such conduct undermines public trust in law enforcement. She stated that the sheriff’s office has reduced the number of employees allowed to conduct certain searches from 39 to 23 designated supervisory officers. Deputies must now obtain supervisor approval for searches and document the reason, including a valid criminal case number. Searches must also be logged by radio at the dispatch center.

Flock Safety uses fixed cameras to photograph vehicles, capturing license plate information, make, model, color, time, and location. The system stores location data for 30 days, allowing authorized users to review a vehicle’s recent movements. However, it does not provide direct vehicle ownership or personal driver records. The sheriff’s office has tightened access to license plate data and will continue monitoring the system to prevent any misuse.