Documented Incident

Police MisuseInvestigationsNorth Carolina

Macon County, NC deputy fired after internal investigation found Flock ALPR misuse

Event: October 20, 2026 · First reported: October 20, 2026 · 14 sources

The Macon County Sheriff's Office said it terminated employee Jonathan Bean on Friday after an internal investigation substantiated a complaint that he misused the agency's Flock license plate reader system. According to the sheriff's office, an outside agency flagged the possible misuse, after which the deputy was placed on administrative leave and an internal affairs detective opened an investigation. Sheriff Brent Holbrooks said the complaint was found to be founded and that misuse of agency technology would not be tolerated. The sheriff's office did not publicly describe what searches were run or who was targeted.

Why this matters

The case illustrates that ALPR misuse by officers is often detected by outside agencies rather than internal audits, raising questions for other jurisdictions about how routinely plate-reader searches are reviewed and what information is disclosed to the public.

Key facts

Timeline

Sources

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

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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 22, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.