Documented Incident
Three Hall County deputies resign amid Flock ALPR misuse allegations
Event: August 27, 2026 · First reported: September 2, 2026 · 6 sources
The Hall County Sheriff's Office announced that three deputies — Jason Orellana, Taylor McArthur and Austin Scott Flanagan — resigned in late August after an ongoing audit of the agency's Flock automated license plate reader system allegedly found searches conducted for non-law-enforcement purposes. According to the sheriff's office, Orellana ran 10 unauthorized searches at the request of McArthur, a jail division deputy who lacked system access and sought information on people known to her, while Flanagan allegedly accessed the system twice for personal reasons. The agency said it referred the alleged violations to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council as its internal investigation continues; the press release did not mention criminal charges.
The resignations came out of a routine audit, illustrating how ALPR misuse is typically surfaced only when agencies review their own search logs — and raising questions for other jurisdictions about how often such audits occur and what happens when officers resign before discipline is finalized.
Key facts
- Deputies Jason Orellana (hired April 2019), Taylor McArthur (April 2023) and Austin Scott Flanagan (November 2022) resigned Aug. 26–27
- HCSO said Orellana conducted 10 unauthorized Flock searches for McArthur, who did not have system access; Flanagan allegedly used the system twice for personal reasons
- Flanagan was already on paid administrative leave following an Aug. 25 arrest for allegedly making harassing phone calls
- Alleged violations were referred to the Georgia POST Council; no criminal charges were mentioned in the sheriff's office release
- HCSO announced the firing of two investigators over alleged Flock misuse the previous week, part of a broader wave of north Georgia cases
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- 3 Hall County deputies resign after being accused of misusing Flock cameras (atlantanewsfirst.com, September 2, 2026)
- 3 Ga. deputies resign after being accused of misusing Flock cameras (WRDW, September 1, 2026)
- Hall County deputy fired after being accused of misusing Flock cameras (FOX Carolina News, September 2, 2026)
- 3 Hall County deputies resign after being accused of misusing Flock cameras (FOX Carolina News, September 1, 2026)
- Hall County deputy fired after being accused of misusing Flock cameras (atlantanewsfirst.com, September 3, 2026)
- Three Hall deputies resign amid Flock misuse investigations (Now Georgia, September 1, 2026)
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About this record
BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated September 11, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.