Upstate South Carolina agencies suspend or review Flock cameras after five employees fired for misuse

First reported: September 10, 2026 · 2 sources

Five law enforcement employees across three Upstate South Carolina agencies were fired in recent months over alleged misuse of Flock Safety license plate reader systems, including officers accused of running searches on former partners and entering false justifications to disguise the queries. Greer suspended its Flock program for 90 days beginning Aug. 21, and the Oconee County Council advanced a "Protection from Mass Surveillance" ordinance on Aug. 18 to defund cameras on county roads, with a final public hearing set for Sept. 15. Residents addressed the Greenville City Council on Aug. 24 asking for removal of the city's cameras, while Pickens County Sheriff Tommy Blankenship publicly defended the technology and called for stricter guardrails. None of the fired employees has been criminally charged.

Why this matters

The cluster of firings shows ALPR audit logs can surface misuse but only after months of unauthorized searches, and the varied local responses — suspension, defunding proposals, or continued use with added policy — offer other communities a range of oversight models to weigh.

Key facts

Greer fired officers Kareem Lynch (June 26) and Sebastian Echeverry (June 29); South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy separation records allege unauthorized searches and falsified search justifications. Neither faces criminal charges.
Mauldin fired officer Ellie Hammond after records showed 166 searches between April 24 and July 22 on a vehicle belonging to a former significant other, with false reasons entered.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said on a July 24 podcast that two employees — former deputy Richard Mann and dispatcher Lauren Wilkinson — were fired for misuse that "violated people's rights."
Greer's 90-day suspension began Aug. 21; Oconee County's defunding ordinance faces a final public hearing Sept. 15.
Greenville Police operates 54 Flock cameras and has reported no misuse firings; DeFlocksc.org counts roughly 201 cameras in Greenville County and 242 across the Upstate.
A January state bill requiring judicial oversight, annual reporting and stricter retention rules for automated surveillance was referred to committee and stalled.

Sources

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

Flock cameras face growing scrutiny across Upstate SC (The Greenville News, September 10, 2026)
Flock cameras face growing scrutiny across Upstate SC (GoUpstate, September 10, 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 September 21, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.