Five or more Upstate SC law enforcement employees lost jobs over Flock ALPR misuse in seven months

First reported: September 16, 2026 · 1 source

The Greenville News reported that at least five law enforcement employees across South Carolina's Upstate region have lost their jobs over the past seven months after allegedly misusing Flock Safety license plate reader data, including searches unrelated to legitimate police work. The article names six individuals across four agencies: two Greer Police Department officers, a former Greenville County Sheriff's Office deputy and a dispatcher, a Mauldin officer, and an Anderson County master deputy who resigned. Several cases involved allegations that officers searched vehicles tied to former romantic partners and logged false reasons for the queries in the system's audit records. According to publicly available records reviewed by the newspaper, none of those separated from their jobs has been criminally charged.

Why this matters

The cluster of cases in a single region raises questions about how closely agencies audit officer access to ALPR databases capable of reconstructing where a vehicle has traveled. It also illustrates a recurring accountability gap: internal audit logs depend on officers accurately stating their reasons for a search, and documented misuse has not so far resulted in criminal charges.

Key facts

Greer PD terminated Kareem Lynch on June 26; investigators alleged he searched the plate of an officer he had previously dated and entered deceptive search justifications between December and January.
Greer PD terminated Sebastian Echeverry on June 29; investigators alleged he falsely logged 'Alcohol Offense Non-DUI' as his search reason, which they described as creating a false public document.
Mauldin City PD fired officer Ellie Hammond over 166 searches of a vehicle belonging to a former significant other, with reasons logged as warrant checks, traffic infractions or welfare checks.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said on a podcast that his office fired two employees; the office identified them as former deputy Richard Mann and dispatcher Lauren Wilkinson.
Anderson County Master Deputy Eric Center resigned Sept. 9 after the sheriff's office opened an internal affairs investigation into unauthorized Flock use.
DeFlockSC, a group opposed to what it calls mass surveillance, counts roughly 201 ALPR cameras in the Greenville County area and 242 across the Upstate; the article states Flock data is deleted from the law enforcement database after seven days.

Sources

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

5 Upstate officers have lost their jobs over Flock. Here’s what they did (Greenville Online, September 16, 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 16, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.