DeKalb County deputy fired and charged over Flock plate-reader misuse; three Fayetteville officers out

First reported: July 18, 2026 · 1 source

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said former Sgt. Kabiru Salawu, a nearly 17-year veteran, was fired and arrested on Friday on a felony charge of violation of oath by a public officer and a misdemeanor charge of misuse of license plate data. Separately, the Fayetteville Police Department said Friday that three of its officers are no longer employed after the department found they had run their own license plates or those of people they know. The cases add to a series of recent Georgia terminations and criminal charges tied to alleged misuse of automated license plate reader systems. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Why this matters

The cases show that misuse of ALPR databases is being detected and acted on in multiple Georgia agencies, raising questions for other jurisdictions about audit practices, access controls, and what penalties apply when officers query the systems for personal reasons.

Key facts

Former DeKalb County sheriff's Sgt. Kabiru Salawu, with nearly 17 years at the agency, was fired and arrested Friday.
Salawu faces one felony count of violation of oath by a public officer and a misdemeanor count of misuse of license plate data.
Fayetteville Police Department said Friday that three officers are out of a job after allegedly looking up their own tags or those of people they know.
AJC reports these join a growing list of recent Georgia officers terminated or charged over alleged plate-reader misuse.
No convictions have been reported; the charges are allegations at this stage.

Sources

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

DeKalb deputy charged with Flock camera misuse; more Georgia officers fired (AJC.com, July 18, 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 August 10, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.