An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office sergeant has joined a growing list of now 22 law enforcement officials who have been placed on leave, fired or arrested because of a TCPalm-USA TODAY joint investigation.

Sgt. John Finnegan was placed on administrative leave after a TCPalm reporter on Aug. 27 inquired about his potential misuse of Flock Safety's license plate reading cameras.

Marquis Dillard is accused of making 455 searches involving a man he said was seeing the same woman he was seeing. During his hearing, Dillard argued that other officers had committed similar violations but were not fired or arrested.
"I think the termination is more media and political driven than in fairness," Dillard claimed.

The city argued the number and nature of the searches showed an abuse of a police system intended for law enforcement purposes.

Calandic Thomas, a former police community specialist who was not a sworn officer, was accused of using Flock to search for the father of her child. Those searches resulted in 17 alerts.

Thomas argued she was not properly trained on Flock and said she did not understand what she was permitted to use the system for: "Prior to the situation, I knew nothing about Flock."
The city argued employees had to receive instructions and access credentials before they could use Flock.
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Dillard pointed to other officers he said committed similar violations. Another case discussed during the hearings involved an SPD officer who admitted using Flock to check on a boyfriend after being told he was cheating. That officer received a written reprimand and remains with the department.

ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy has resigned amid an investigation into the misuse of Flock safety cameras. The sheriff’s office said Deputy Caleb Dixon resigned on Monday. The sheriff’s office said it conducted an internal affairs investigation into the misuse of Flock. The sheriff’s office said this is a personnel issue.

Deputy Dixon is the second Anderson County deputy to resign due to Flock misuse this month.

DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) - A Decatur police officer is on administrative duty as state and internal investigators look into allegations of misuse involving the department’s Flock automated license plate reader system.

The Decatur Police Department said it first learned of the potential misuse on June 12 and immediately initiated an internal affairs inquiry. Decatur Police Chief Torry Mack has also requested an independent investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to determine whether any criminal violations occurred.

“Our officers are entrusted with sensitive tools and significant authority, and that trust carries a duty to use both responsibly,” Chief Mack said in a statement. “We remain committed to serving our community with integrity, protecting the rights of everyone involved, and holding every member of this department, regardless of rank or position, to the standards our profession and the public demand.”

Both internal and state investigations remain active. Police have not released the officer’s name, details on what information was allegedly accessed, or how the camera system was compromised.

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – The city of Eastpointe is ending its contract with Flock Safety after the police department found that two employees misused the company’s license plate reader system. The Eastpointe City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to end the contract.
Council member Rob Baker was the only member to vote in favor of keeping Flock.

In a press release Wednesday, Police Chief Corey Haines said the department received information that two employees may have misused Flock license plate readers.
After a full investigation, the department determined that both employees had misused the system — one for personal purposes and the other in violation of department policy.

The department said the personal-use incident resulted in “severe discipline commensurate with the employee’s years of service and spotless personnel record.” The second situation remains under investigation.

The department did not specify what discipline the employees received. Eastpointe police said individual personnel records are exempt from disclosure.

Former Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank D. McGrath, 45, of Salem, made his first court appearance Thursday afternoon on two felony counts of misconduct in public office for allegedly using powerful law-enforcement surveillance systems, including FLOCK and Polaris, to surveil a fellow deputy who broke up with him. Court Commissioner Daniel E. Kellum released McGrath on no-cash bail during the four-minute hearing. McGrath faces a combined maximum of seven years in prison and $20,000 in fines if convicted of both Class I felonies.

According to the criminal complaint, a routine audit conducted by Kenosha County Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Klinkhammer uncovered 16 to 17 FLOCK searches performed by McGrath in about four hours while he was off duty on September 30, 2025. McGrath allegedly entered “Suspicious” as the reason for every search but supplied no case number. Prosecutors say the searches ultimately targeted the Illinois license plate belonging to the fellow deputy. Investigators found no active law-enforcement investigation or legitimate law-enforcement purpose involving the woman or her vehicle.

Prosecutors allege McGrath also used Polaris, a system capable of displaying live GPS locations of on-duty squad cars and body-worn cameras, to monitor the deputy. The complaint alleges McGrath accessed Polaris while off duty 40 separate times between July 18 and October 23, 2025, without a legitimate law-enforcement purpose. On one occasion, McGrath allegedly contacted the woman while she was parked squad-to-squad with another deputy, told her her exact location, identified the coworker beside her and said, “I know everything.”

BRAINTREE, Mass. — A now-former Braintree police officer is accused of using department technology to harass his ex-girlfriend.
25 Investigates obtained court records and police internal audits that show Mark Sherrick used the department’s Flock camera system to track her license plate more than 1,000 times.

According to court records, he placed a GPS device on her car and tracked it using a Braintree Police Department-issued cell phone.

25 Investigates also obtained an audit of how Braintree police were using their Flock cameras. Records showed Sherrick searched for one license plate tied to his ex more than 1,049 times. Court records say the harassment happened from January to February 2025.

However, the department’s Flock audit showed he started tracking her license plate on Aug. 20, 2024, around the same time the couple broke up, according to the criminal complaint.

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The Vero Beach Police Department has launched an investigation into allegations of potential misuse of the Flock Safety system by one of its members after being contacted by a news organization.

The department said the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
"The Vero Beach Police Department remains committed to accountability, transparency, and ensuring that law enforcement technology is used only for legitimate and authorized purposes," the department said in a statement.

The department added that no additional information will be released at this time, as the investigation is active.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis metro police officer has been suspended following an investigation into their “improper use” of Automated License Plate Reader technology.

IMPD confirmed Friday evening that an investigation was launched last month after internal audits reportedly led to the discovery of “irregular usage” of ALPR searches, prompting the department to launch administrative and criminal investigations.

The officer was placed on administrative duty and had their police powers removed as access to the ALPR system was also revoked. IMPD Chief Tanya Terry suspended the officer and has since recommended their termination to the Merit Board.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was arrested on September 9 after FDLE investigators said he repeatedly pulled confidential information from law-enforcement databases and sent it to people through text messages and Snapchat — including driver's license photos, addresses, and other personal information.

According to an FDLE investigative affidavit, 41-year-old Trooper Alain Fernandez knowingly shared confidential criminal justice information at least 22 times between 2022 and 2025.

Investigators say the information was obtained through restricted systems including FCIC, NCIC, and Florida's DAVID database. The affidavit says Fernandez used the information for personal reasons, parody or to make disparaging comments about people — rather than for legitimate law-enforcement purposes.

Investigators also say Fernandez used Flock automated license plate reader information while communicating with a man named Khaled Turkustani.

According to the affidavit, Fernandez sent Turkustani screenshots showing a white Tesla and warned him that warrants had been filed. Fernandez allegedly told him vehicles associated with an address had been "hot listed" in Flock and other camera systems and that he would eventually be stopped.

Police are investigating after a Flock surveillance camera was damaged recently in west Wichita. Wichita Police Department spokesman Andrew Ford said in an email Saturday that the damage happened near Zoo Boulevard and Central, near the Keeper Apartments complex.

Late Saturday afternoon, all that was left of a Flock camera set up north of the intersection of Zoo and Central was the bottom of a pole. It appeared that someone had taken a saw to the pole.

WASHINGTON (7News) — In a letter to a D.C. councilmember, Interim Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll shared the department is currently investigating two cases of 'potential misuse' of Flock technology within the department.

The information comes in a letter that is a direct response to Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who sent the department ten questions related to how Flock camera technology is used and regulated.

Councilmember Pinto also asked several question related to the D.C. Police Union's statement saying there was "improper use by management of Flock data."

The D.C. Police Union President Gregg Pemberton said the technology can be a legitimate investigative tool when used lawfully, but argued MPD has not negotiated, established or enforced adequate controls.

Councilmember Pinto asked if the claims were true and for the department's justification for using the technology in an internal investigation.

MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (WKYT) - A man was arrested in Mt. Sterling after numerous Flock cameras were damaged in several cities, according to the police department.

Authorities say they received a notification that a Flock camera had been damaged on Aug. 15, and since then, a total of eight were destroyed or tampered with. Two of the cameras were privately owned by Lowe’s, according to officials.

On Sept. 20, Winchester Police and the MSPD saw a total of nine Flock cameras destroyed overnight, authorities say. Investigators from both agencies say they began an investigation, using nearby security cameras and Flock license plate readers.