Documented Incident
Savannah mayor backs Flock cameras after employee shared login with ICE agent husband
Event: October 20, 2026 · First reported: October 20, 2026 · 1 source
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said Tuesday the city will keep using Flock Safety license plate readers after a former police department employee, Amber Harp, was fired for sharing her city-issued account credentials with her husband, an ICE agent. An internal investigation found the account was used from January through July for 983 searches involving 97 license plates across six states, with 788 searches in South Carolina and most vehicles registered to Hispanic owners. Johnson said the city never authorized ICE to access its Flock data and that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined to pursue criminal charges, though he said he did not know the agency's reasoning.
The case shows how a single shared login can route a local surveillance system to a federal agency that was never party to any data-sharing agreement, and Savannah's lack of a Flock-specific policy raises questions about what rules and audits other cities have in place before misuse occurs.
Key facts
- 983 searches involving 97 license plates were run between January and July across Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina; 788 were in South Carolina
- Six Savannah police department employees were fired over alleged misuse of the technology
- Savannah shares Flock data with roughly 1,700 agencies, but ICE is not among them; Johnson said he did not know whether ICE had formally requested access
- The GBI declined to bring criminal charges; Johnson speculated it may relate to the searches not being for personal benefit but said he did not know the reasoning
- The department is still drafting a Flock-specific policy and a public transparency portal; reports indicate Savannah is one of two coastal Georgia agencies without such a policy
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Savannah mayor defends Flock cameras, despite misuse, firings of police department employees (WJCL, October 20, 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 21, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.