A Georgia police officer was fired after an internal investigation found she shared access to a license plate-reading system with her husband, who works for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), amid scrutiny over law enforcement's use of the surveillance technology.
Former Savannah Police Department officer Amber Harpe was one of six department employees terminated following an investigation into the misuse of the department's Flock Safety License Plate Reader system. According to the department, its investigation uncovered an instance in which an officer provided access to the system to someone from an "outside law enforcement agency."
Harpe was not subsequently arrested over the incident. An independent investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) resulted in four of the six former employees being arrested in August, but Harpe was not one of those charged.
What Happened?
The Savannah Police Department launched an internal investigation on July 27 after a review of activity on its Flock Safety system identified searches that appeared unrelated to legitimate law enforcement work. Six employees, comprising four police officers and two civilian staff members, were initially placed on administrative leave.
Harpe admitted to giving her Savannah Police Department Flock username and password to her husband, an ICE agent who didn’t have his own access to the system through his federal job, according to records obtained by a local news outlet.
Savannah Police Department confirmed to Newsweek that Harpe's husband was not authorized access to the system.
"Unauthorized access to police technology by anyone is a breach of Savannah Police Department policy and public trust," the department's Public Safety Communications Manager, Neil Penttila, said.
"In this case, SPD determined that department policy was violated and terminated the employee. An outside law enforcement agency’s investigative purpose does not, by itself, authorize access to SPD’s system."
The department ultimately determined all six employees had violated policies controlling the authorized use of law enforcement technology and departmental resources, and announced their termination on August 7.
Police Chief Lenny B. Gunther said when the investigation was announced that officers are entrusted with powerful investigative technology on the understanding that it will be used "lawfully, ethically, and only for legitimate public safety purposes."
What Is the Flock System?
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Flock Safety's technology allows police departments to use automated cameras to capture and search vehicle license plate information.
Georgia law defines an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system as "one or more high-speed cameras combined with computer algorithms used to convert images of license plates into computer-readable data." The state law allows law enforcement agencies to collect this data but says it shouldn’t be accessed unless it’s for a law enforcement purpose.
The technology forms a significant part of Savannah's policing infrastructure. The police department says every search on its Flock platform is electronically documented, including the user, time, date, and stated reason for carrying out the search. Other safeguards include mandatory training, role-based access, supervisory oversight and compliance reviews.
What were the four officers charged with?
While the six cases were referred by the Savannah Police Department to the GBI for an independent criminal investigation, only four former employees were identified by the GBI as arrested on August 21.
The GBI charged former officers Marquis Dillard, Donald Phillips and Matthew Rich with two counts each of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count each of violation of oath of office. Former Community Service Specialist Calandic Thomas was charged with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system. The GBI said preliminary information indicated that the four employees had accessed Flock for non-law-enforcement purposes.
Harpe wasn’t named among those arrested or charged in the GBI's announcement. The agency said its investigation remained active and ongoing and that, once complete, its case file would be provided to the Eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for review and prosecution.
Newsweek has contacted the Savannah Police Department, GBI, and Flock Safety for comment.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Robert Greenall and Ben Kelly