5 Georgia officers fired, arrested for misusing access to city's Flock cameras, GBI says
Five Georgia police officers have been fired and are facing charges after authorities say they misused their access to their city's Flock Safety System.
In a release posted on Facebook, the Albany Police Department said the actions were taken after an internal audit of the license plate reader camera system led to the discovery of "serious policy violations" by the officers.
"License plate reader systems are designed to support legitimate public safety operations, including identifying vehicles connected to criminal investigations, recovering stolen vehicles, and assisting in locating individuals during public safety incidents," the department wrote. "Any use of the technology outside its authorized purpose is unacceptable and inconsistent with the standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability expected of every member of the Albany Police Department."
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the internal audit revealed the the officers accessed the system on multiple occassions, using the license plate data for "non-law enforcement purposes."
The agency did not share specifics about what the data allegely was used for.
After the audit, the police department said it fired the five officers and contacted the GBI, which arrested and charged them with misuse of license plate data and violation of their oath of office on Monday.
The former officers have been identified as 27-year-old Tytianna Davis, 32-year-old Jade Jackson, 30-year-old Nicholas Richardson, 23-year-old Brittney Smith, and 24-year-old Issac Whitus.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the GBI is asking anyone with information about the case to contact its Regional Investigative Office in Sylvester, GA, at (229) 777-2080 or its tip line at 1-800-597-8477.
The arrests come just weeks after the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office charged and fired two of its supervisors for allegedly misusing the county's automated license plate reader system.
