Fourth Cherokee County deputy fired and charged over alleged Flock ALPR misuse

First reported: August 20, 2026 · 4 sources

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office says it arrested and fired Deputy Jerry Shellhouse, 57, after an internal investigation into alleged use of the agency's Flock automated license plate reader system for non-law-enforcement purposes. Investigators were alerted to allegations that an employee improperly used the system between October 2023 and December 2025. Shellhouse faces one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanor count under Georgia's prohibition on retaining ALPR data, with bond set at $3,812. He is the fourth Cherokee County deputy accused this year; the charges are allegations that have not been resolved in court.

Why this matters

A cluster of four cases at a single agency raises questions about how routinely ALPR queries were audited before the misuse was detected, and Georgia's statutory limits on license plate data give prosecutors a criminal hook that most states lack.

Key facts

Jerry Shellhouse, 57, was arrested and fired; charges include felony violation of oath of office and a misdemeanor ALPR data-retention offense; bond set at $3,812
Alleged improper use occurred between October 2023 and December 2025, according to investigators
Lt. Chris Bryant, Sgt. Mike Creeden and Deputy Cynthia Jodesty were similarly accused earlier, in 2026
The sheriff's office revised its Flock policy to require audits at least twice a year, restrict access to authorized users, mandate user certification and add training
Sheriff Frank Reynolds said the actions signal that misuse of the technology will not be tolerated

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Another deputy fired and charged for alleged misuse of Flock camera (Wsb-tv Channel 2 - Atlanta, August 20, 2026)
Another deputy fired and charged for alleged misuse of Flock camera (Yahoo! News, August 20, 2026)
Cherokee County deputy fired, arrested for allegedly misusing Flock cameras, sheriff says (CBS News, August 20, 2026)
Cherokee County's Fourth Deputy Charged in Flock Camera Snooping Scandal (Hoodline, August 20, 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 August 24, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.