Two more personnel moves were announced late Tuesday by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office: the firing of another detective for misusing the Flock camera system and the suspension of a deputy for unrelated reasons.
Michael Atkins, the detective, had been employed with the office for 13 years. An internal investigation determined he accessed the Flock system on at least four occasions for personal use unrelated to law enforcement purposes.
In addition, Austin Scott Flanagan, 30, has been placed on administrative leave with pay following his arrest by Gainesville Police on a charge of making harassing phone calls. He has been employed by the sheriff’s office since Nov. 2022.
POSTED 12:45 P.M. TODAY:
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has fired one of its investigators for misusing the agency’s Flock camera system for personal reasons.
Officials said Justin Brown was terminated after an internal investigation revealed he conducted unauthorized searches involving at least two tag numbers. The searches were discovered during a self‑initiated audit of the system and were determined to have no legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Brown, who had been with the agency since late 2022, was dismissed for policy violations. The matter has been referred to the GBI for a criminal review.
“This action is an embarrassment to our agency,” said Major Brad Parks of the Criminal Investigations Bureau. He added that while the system has been instrumental in solving crimes, including a recent murder case, its use must remain strictly limited to legitimate law enforcement purposes.
The sheriff’s office is continuing its audit of the Flock system and its overall use.
UPDATE #1. POSTED 9:30 THIS MORNING:
The GBI confirmed this morning that it is investigating the possible misuse of license plate reader information by personnel in the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO).
“We can confirm that the GBI has been requested by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an investigation regarding allegations of employee misuse of license plate reader data,” GBI spokeswoman Sara Lue said.
She provided no other information, except that the investigation “is active and ongoing at this time.”
EARLIER STORY. POSTED 8:00 A.M. TODAY:
As the nationwide debate over license plate readers (LPR) rages, an investigative report by nowgeorgia.com says an audit of the devices in Hall County has uncovered 85 questionable findings.
nowgeorgia.com says the data included in the report was obtains through Open Records Requests.
It says, in part, “Hall County says personnel are manually reviewing flagged activity. The agency also says it is withholding records involving pending investigations or identifying user accounts that were suspended, restricted, referred for investigation or otherwise administratively addressed under cited Georgia Open Records Act exemptions.”
You can read the full report here: Hall County flags 85 Flock searches in new audit – Now Georgia