Documented Incident
Richmond County deputy fired and charged over personal Flock plate reader searches
Event: October 15, 2026 · First reported: October 15, 2026 · 1 source
The Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia says an internal investigation concluded that Deputy Corey Whitfield knowingly used the agency's Flock license plate reader system to run searches unrelated to any law enforcement purpose. Whitfield was fired, arrested and charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office, and was booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. He is at least the seventh sheriff's office employee arrested over alleged ALPR misuse. The charges are allegations and have not been resolved in court.
A repeated pattern of alleged misuse at a single agency raises questions about what controls govern access to ALPR databases, and local reporting found no supervisor approval was required before searches at the time of the earlier arrests.
Key facts
- Deputy Corey Whitfield was arrested, charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office, and terminated, per the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
- Investigators said the searches were personal and not tied to a criminal investigation, call for service, or intelligence gathering.
- WRDW reported that no supervisor approval was required to access the Flock system before the previous six arrests of sheriff's office employees.
- Sheriff Eugene Brantley said access to criminal justice information systems, including Flock, is limited to official duties.
- Whitfield had previously been demoted after a DUI and open container arrest last year.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Another Richmond County deputy arrested for misusing license plate reader system (WRDW, October 15, 2026)
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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 18, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.