Sixth Richmond County deputy arrested and fired over personal Flock license plate searches

Event: October 15, 2026 · First reported: October 15, 2026 · 1 source

Richmond County, Georgia deputy Corey Whitfield was arrested, charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of his oath of office, and terminated after an internal investigation concluded he had used the sheriff's office Flock camera system last year to run tag searches for personal reasons, according to Sgt. Walter M. McNeil Jr. Investigators also found he violated agency policies on database access, employee conduct and ethics, McNeil said. The sheriff's office described him as the sixth deputy arrested in the expanding inquiry, which it said remains ongoing. The charges are allegations and have not been resolved in court.

Why this matters

A single agency has now arrested and fired multiple employees over personal searches of an ALPR network, raising questions for other departments about how often such misuse occurs and whether audit systems catch it.

Key facts

Whitfield was charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of his oath of office, and booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center; he has been fired.
Investigators said the searches took place last year and were unrelated to criminal investigations, emergency calls or other legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Previously arrested and fired in the probe: Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough (June 2026), Lt. John McKenzie, Investigator Curtis Hoskins and Deputy Joshua Johnson (July), and Investigator Sean Morrow and Deputy Jose Ferrer (August).
The sheriff's office has generally not disclosed why the employees allegedly ran the searches, and says the investigation is ongoing.
Whitfield was arrested on DUI and open container charges in July 2025 while a corporal with 12 years of service; the DUI was reduced to reckless driving, with probation and a $400 fine.

Sources

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

Another RCSO deputy charged after personal searches on Flock camera system (The Augusta Press, October 15, 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 October 17, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.