Self-exemption from enforced law
Officials personally violating laws, regulations, or requirements that they are themselves responsible for enforcing against others. It matters because it is the clearest possible case of one law for the powerful and another for everyone else.
2026 Events (31)
Revere, Mass. police officer misused Flock cameras and state database to track ex-girlfriend, suspended without pay
On September 2, 2026, Revere, Massachusetts police confirmed that Officer Michael Tiso had used the department's Flock license-plate-reader cameras and a state database on multiple occasions to track the location of his ex-girlfriend, Marissa Todisco, and her family, following a complaint the department received in December 2025. An internal affairs investigation substantiated the misuse, and Tiso served a three-day unpaid suspension from August 24 to August 26, 2026 before returning to duty; the findings were reported to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.
Colleton County, S.C. sheriff's lieutenant fired over 62 unauthorized Flock camera searches, including his spouse's vehicle
Colleton County Sheriff's Office Lt. Kevin Smalls was fired on August 31, 2026, after an internal audit found he conducted 62 unauthorized searches of the department's Flock license-plate-reader system over a six-month period, including searches of vehicles registered to his spouse and other acquaintances. Sheriff Guerry Hill Jr. requested a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation into potential criminal conduct. Smalls is the second Colleton County lieutenant fired for Flock misuse in August 2026, after Lt. Ruben Carter's termination on August 20 over more than 2,700 unauthorized searches.
Richmond County, Ga. sheriff's deputy misused Flock database for personal reasons, fired, charged
On August 31, 2026, the Richmond County (Augusta, Georgia) Sheriff's Office arrested and fired Deputy Jose Ferrer after a criminal investigation found he had misused the agency's Flock license-plate-reader system to search plates for reasons unrelated to any official law-enforcement purpose. He was charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office and booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. The arrest is the sixth in an ongoing RCSO audit of Flock misuse since June 2026.
Richmond County, Ga. sheriff's investigator misused Flock database for personal reasons, fired, charged
On August 31, 2026, the Richmond County (Augusta, Georgia) Sheriff's Office arrested and fired Investigator Sean Morrow after a criminal investigation found he had misused the agency's Flock license-plate-reader system to search plates for reasons unrelated to any official law-enforcement purpose. He was charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office and booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. The arrest is the sixth in an ongoing RCSO audit of Flock misuse since June 2026.
Former Amarillo, Texas officer charged with 78 counts for using Flock database to track romantic rival
Former Amarillo, Texas police officer Christian Slade Eder, 29, was charged on August 31, 2026 with 78 counts of tampering with a government record after an audit found he searched a license-plate database 76 times and a law-enforcement records database twice to track a man who had previously dated a fellow officer Eder had expressed romantic interest in, entering false reasons for the searches each time. The Amarillo Police Department had fired Eder on July 17, 2026 following an internal investigation but did not publicly disclose the firing for 33 days. Eder turned himself in on September 1, was released on a $4,500 bond, and pleaded not guilty at arraignment the next day.
Jackson County, Ind. deputy misused Flock cameras to track girlfriend's location 2,055 times, charged with felony
On August 31, 2026, the Jackson County (Indiana) Prosecutor's Office charged former sheriff's deputy Skylar Thompson, 31, with official misconduct and fraud after a routine department audit found he had searched his then-girlfriend's license plate 2,055 times using the county's Flock camera system between December 31, 2025 and August 2, 2026, while employed as a deputy. Thompson falsely logged the searches as "city planning/traffic analysis," a duty he was never assigned, and resigned the day he was confronted before admitting the conduct to his then-girlfriend directly. A warrant was issued and he was taken into custody.
Former Covington, Ga. officer arrested for Flock camera misuse, oath-of-office violation
On August 27, 2026, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested former Covington Police Department officer Michael Canty, 29, on charges of misuse of a license plate reader system and violation of oath of office. The Covington Police Department had asked the GBI on August 6, 2026 to investigate allegations that Canty misused his Flock Safety system access; the GBI said its preliminary investigation found Canty accessed the Flock system for non-law-enforcement purposes.
Lufkin, Texas officer misused Flock license-plate database to track 11 people over a year, indicted on 100 felony counts
Lufkin, Texas police officer Zachary Anthony Klein was arrested by Texas Rangers on August 20, 2026, following an internal audit and an outside investigation into his use of the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system. He was indicted the next day on 100 felony counts of misuse of official information, accused of tracking the vehicles of 11 people -- most connected to an ex-girlfriend -- for nongovernmental purposes between June 2024 and December 2025. The Lufkin Police Department suspended its use of Flock cameras department-wide as a result.
Sarasota, Fla. officer misused Flock and DAVID databases 335 times to track ex-partner's vehicle; fired, arrested
On August 19, 2026, the Sarasota Police Department fired and arrested Officer Cory Waiters, 38, after an internal and criminal investigation found he had misused the department's Flock license-plate-reader network and Florida's DAVID driver database to repeatedly search his ex-partner's vehicle. A USA Today reporter's independent analysis of Flock audit logs first flagged the pattern -- 335 searches of the same plate over roughly two months, including 121 in a single day -- and the reporter's August 6 email to the department triggered the internal affairs and criminal investigations. Waiters was charged with felony offenses against computer users/systems, felony official misconduct, and misdemeanor violation of public records law.
House Ethics Chair Michael Guest disclosed stock trades six-plus months past STOCK Act deadline
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) disclosed three stock sales -- in Chevron, Airbnb, and e.l.f. Beauty -- made through a family trust, filing the required report more than six months after the STOCK Act's 45-day deadline. Guest, whose committee is responsible for enforcing the STOCK Act against House members, said a compliance firm missed the trades and that he discovered the omission while preparing his annual financial disclosure; his chief of staff said Guest had no decision-making role in the trust. It was Guest's second STOCK Act violation after a similarly late disclosure in 2021, and he said he would pay the standard late-filing fine without recusing himself from his committee's handling of the penalty.
Haines City, Fla. officer arrested after 717 Flock camera searches of estranged wife's car
On August 11, 2026, Haines City, Florida police officer Christopher Goodson, 31, was arrested on one count of offenses against computer users and one count of official misconduct, both third-degree felonies. An arrest affidavit found Goodson entered his estranged wife's license plate into the department's Flock Safety camera database 717 times between September 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026, often logging false law-enforcement justifications for the searches. Goodson disclosed the searches to a supervisor only after learning a reporter had contacted his estranged wife about the pattern, and has indicated he intends to resign.
Mauldin, S.C. officer fired for using Flock cameras 166 times to track ex-partner, falsified search logs
Separation papers Mauldin, South Carolina police officials filed with the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy — first publicly reported August 10, 2026 after records requests, since neither Hammond nor the department disclosed it voluntarily — showed that Mauldin Police Department officer Ellie Hammond was terminated August 3, 2026 after using the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system 166 times between March and July 2026 to track a former significant other's vehicle. Hammond disguised the searches by logging them as warrant checks, traffic infractions, and welfare checks rather than their real purpose.
Ogeechee Circuit DA investigator Andrae Wright used retained Flock, TLO database access to stalk his wife, arrested
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Andrae Wright, 44, on July 27, 2026 in Statesboro, Georgia, and charged him with misuse of a license plate reader system, stalking, computer invasion of privacy, and violation of oath of office. At the time of the offense, Wright was chief investigator for the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney's Office; he had retained access to the Effingham County Sheriff's Office's Flock Safety system from a prior job there and used it, along with the TLO law-enforcement records database, more than 180 times between June 15 and July 5, 2026 to locate his wife. He was booked into the Bulloch County Jail, having left the DA's office on July 9, 2026, the day the investigation began.
Documents revealed federal agencies spent nearly $1M on Trump-image lobby banners; DOJ — which enforces the Hatch Act — led the spending
On July 24, 2026, documents published by E&E News/Politico and PBS showed that the U.S. Department of Justice spent nearly $1 million on large banners displaying President Trump's face in its Robert F. Kennedy Building headquarters, while the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, and the Interior installed similar Trump-image banners at their headquarters buildings. The DOJ is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal agencies from using government resources for partisan political purposes.
White House ousted IRS chief counsel Ken Kies after he warned a request would violate audit-interference law
On July 17, 2026, Reuters and other outlets reported that the White House had forced Kenneth Kies -- the IRS's acting chief counsel and Treasury's assistant secretary for tax policy -- out of his post. Kies had told administration officials that a request they were considering would violate 26 U.S.C. Section 7217, the law barring the president, vice president, and White House staff from asking the IRS to open or close an audit of a specific taxpayer. Two administration officials disputed that account, saying Kies' removal instead reflected concerns about his temperament and job performance.
Documents show Fort Bend County sheriff's lieutenant misused Flock cameras 189 times, suspended two days
ABC13 reported on July 17, 2026, that documents it obtained show a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office lieutenant used the department's Flock license-plate-reader network to search one license plate 41 times and another 148 times from January 2022 through December 2025, admitting the searches were unrelated to official law-enforcement work. An internal affairs investigation, opened after a resident accused the lieutenant of "stalking" them, found the lieutenant violated the department's general orders and imposed a two-day suspension; ABC13 is not naming the lieutenant because no criminal charges have been filed.
Stow, Mass. officer used Flock cameras and state databases to track ex-partner who fled abusive relationship
On July 17, 2026, the Stow Police Department filed a criminal complaint against Officer Jason Rogers after a four-week internal-affairs investigation found he used the Flock camera system and the state's CJIS and CORI databases multiple times in 2024 and 2025 to locate a woman who had ended their relationship years earlier. The woman said the relationship had been abusive and that she had changed her identity, phone number, and social-media habits after leaving; she has since obtained a restraining order against Rogers that she said will remain in place for at least a year. Rogers was placed on paid administrative leave and then, on July 31, 2026, unpaid leave pending a Select Board hearing on his employment status.
Greer, S.C. police corporal repeatedly searched Flock cameras to track a fellow officer, falsified justifications
Greer, South Carolina Police Department Corporal Kareem Lynch repeatedly used the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system to search for the license plate of a fellow officer with whom he had a prior relationship, between December 2025 and January 2026, logging the queries under false justifications such as "welfare checks" or "city planning." The city of Greer disclosed on July 14, 2026 that Lynch had been terminated on June 26, 2026 after a Flock AI audit corroborated the allegations.
Greer, S.C. police officer searched Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend and other citizens, falsified justifications
Greer, South Carolina Police Department Officer Sebastian Echeverry used the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system to search the plates of several citizens, including his ex-girlfriend, between December 13, 2025 and May 25, 2026, entering "Alcohol Offense Non-DUI" as his justification even though that was not the true reason for the searches. The city of Greer disclosed on July 14, 2026 that Echeverry had been terminated on June 29, 2026 after a Flock AI audit corroborated the allegations.
Milwaukee detective assigned to investigate Flock camera misuse misused the same system to track two people, prosecutors alleged
Milwaukee Police Department Internal Affairs Detective Tehrangi Chapman, who had been assigned to investigate officer Josue Ayala for misusing the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system, was himself charged on July 9, 2026, with felony misconduct in public office and misdemeanor misuse of a GPS device. Prosecutors allege Chapman ran unauthorized Flock searches on two individuals roughly 17 to 20 times between January 2024 and January 2025, logging the searches as "training" or "test," and secretly installed a physical GPS tracker on one victim's car without a warrant or consent. Chapman, a 22-year MPD veteran who was suspended with pay in March 2026, admitted in charging documents to using the database and tracker for personal reasons.
Greene County, Ga. deputy misused Flock database to track a license plate for three months, fired and charged
On July 7, 2026, the Greene County (Georgia) Sheriff's Office arrested and fired Deputy Quin'sha Goss after an internal audit found she had used the agency's Flock automated-license-plate-reader system to track at least one license plate for approximately three months for reasons unrelated to any official law-enforcement purpose. Goss was charged with violation of oath of office and prohibited retention of automated-license-plate-reader data. The Sheriff's Office said the investigation remained active.
NASA reclassified Isaacman's jet as government aircraft to bypass FAA safety denial for July 4 D.C. flyover
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew a vintage Northrop F-5 Tiger II fighter jet over Washington, D.C. during President Trump's July 4, 2026 air show after the FAA had denied his request five days earlier, citing 'very high-risk' status, ejection-seat concerns, prior accidents, and danger to people and property below. Isaacman proceeded by having NASA reclassify the F-5s -- part of his privately owned fleet, operated through JDI Holdings -- from civilian to government aircraft, which moved the flight outside the FAA's civil-exemption process that had produced the denial, even though the aircraft titles were not transferred and the planes retained their civil FAA registration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche flew as a passenger in Isaacman's jet during the flyover.
FOIA showed Rubio, Hegseth, Caine, Vance and Lutnick kept using auto-deleting Signal chats after Trump's Signalgate warning
A State Department FOIA release obtained through Democracy Forward's litigation revealed 13 previously undisclosed Signal group chats used by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, Vice President JD Vance, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for government business, configured with auto-delete timers as short as eight hours. The chats ran from April through June 2025, after President Trump's April 24, 2025 public acknowledgment that officials should stop using Signal following the original Signalgate incident.
Cherokee County, Ga. Lt. Chris Bryant arrested on felony charge for misusing sheriff's office license-plate reader database
On June 22, 2026, Cherokee County, Georgia Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Chris Bryant, 45, of Acworth, was arrested, booked, and fired after an internal audit found he had used the agency's Automated License Plate Reader (Flock) database for non-law-enforcement purposes. He was charged with one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanor count of unlawfully retaining license plate reader data, both under Georgia law. The arrest followed a self-initiated audit by the sheriff's Real-Time Intelligence Division that separately implicated two other deputies for misusing the same system.
Holiday Hills, Illinois police chief charged with felony misconduct for using Flock, LEADS data to track six people he knew
On June 18, 2026, McHenry County, Illinois prosecutors charged William C. Copp, 54, chief of the Holiday Hills Police Department and a part-time Prairie Grove police officer, with two counts of official misconduct after an investigation found he misused Prairie Grove's Flock license-plate-reader system and the Illinois LEADS database to track six people he was personally connected to. Copp resigned as Holiday Hills chief the day of his arrest; a McHenry County judge had denied an emergency stalking no-contact order against him in February 2026, months before the charges were filed.
Texas AG Ken Paxton voted in six elections, including 2026 Senate runoff, from address he no longer occupied
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, voted in six elections over the past two years — including the March 2026 primary and the May 26, 2026 runoff that secured his nomination — from a Collin County home records indicate he had vacated more than a year earlier. A trust bought Paxton a $2.4 million home in Denton County in February 2026, but he continued voting from the Collin County address rather than updating his registration. Three election-law experts told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune the conduct may violate the same Texas election-fraud statute Paxton's own office has publicly warned voters against.
Pima County Sheriff Nanos allegedly provided false sworn statements about his police background; supervisors referred perjury to the Arizona AG
On May 12, 2026, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted not to remove Sheriff Chris Nanos from office but referred allegations of potential perjury to the Arizona Attorney General's Office after concluding that his sworn statements about his employment history may have contained false information. Nanos had been compelled in April 2026 to submit sworn reports regarding his 1977–1982 tenure with the El Paso Police Department, where supervisors alleged he had concealed disciplinary records in his official background disclosures. The board took no position on whether perjury was committed but directed the county administrator to forward the perjury allegations to the AG for investigation.
Former Coffee County, Ga. deputy Chris Ashley Rozar indicted on 8 counts for Flock, GCIC database misuse and stalking
On May 5, 2026, a Coffee County, Georgia grand jury indicted former sheriff's deputy Chris Ashley Rozar, 49, on eight counts -- four counts of violation of oath by a public officer, two of computer invasion of privacy, one of prohibited use of captured license-plate data, and one of stalking -- after a two-year GBI investigation found he misused the sheriff's office's Flock camera and tag-reader system and the state GCIC database for personal reasons, including to track a woman, between April 10 and May 1, 2024. Rozar was booked and released on bond the same day; he had been terminated from the sheriff's office when the investigation began.
Costa Mesa, Calif. officer Robert Josett pleaded guilty to misusing police databases to track mistress, wife, and rivals
On April 14, 2026, former Costa Mesa, California police officer Robert Jay Josett, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unauthorized computer access and fraud, annoying and repeated phone calls, and contempt of court, after using the state CLETS database and the Costa Mesa Police Department's Flock license-plate-reader system between June 2023 and June 2024 to track his mistress, her romantic partners, and his own wife. He was sentenced to three years informal probation and a 52-week domestic-violence program, wore a court-ordered GPS monitor for nine months, and his POST certification review remains pending.
Katy, Texas police officer Sergio Rodriguez indicted, fired for using Flock cameras to stalk ex-wife 2,386 times
Katy Police Department officer Sergio Rodriguez was indicted April 6, 2026, in Fort Bend County on felony charges of stalking and misuse of official information, and fired from the department April 20 after an internal-affairs investigation found he used the Flock automated license-plate-reader system 2,386 times over roughly 11 months to track his ex-wife, Kayland Johnson, and placed a GPS tracking device on her vehicle. Court records show the indicted conduct occurred between November 2024 and April 2025; Johnson reported the tracking to Katy police in October 2025, and Rodriguez admitted during the department's investigation that it was a "dumb decision" with "no excuse." Fort Bend County prosecutors said it was the first case their office has charged for Flock misuse.
Monroe County, Florida sheriff's deputy misused police databases and license-plate cameras to track and pull over woman he met on TV set
On February 19, 2026, Monroe County Sheriff's Office Deputy Lamar Eliseo Roman pulled over a woman on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys using a license-plate-reader hotlist alert, the culmination of two weeks in which he repeatedly searched sheriff's-office and state databases for her personal information. Roman had met the woman on February 3, 2026 while working security on the set of Apple TV+'s "Bad Monkey," and investigators say his in-car camera showed him driving into oncoming traffic during the pursuit that preceded the stop. He was fired and arrested on a felony database-misuse charge on March 10, 2026.
2025 Events (4)
Former Florissant, Missouri police officer pleaded guilty to illegally searching women's phones, photographing nude images during traffic stops
Former Florissant, Missouri police officer Julian Alcala pleaded guilty on December 2, 2025, to 20 federal counts of deprivation of rights under color of law for using traffic stops between February and May 2024 to search women's phones without cause and photograph nude images he found, victimizing at least 20 women. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison in March 2026, and the city of Florissant agreed in July 2026 to settle a related civil suit brought by 24 plaintiffs for $4 million while denying liability.
Hegseth shared Yemen strike details in a second Signal chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer
The New York Times reported on April 20-21, 2025 that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of the March 15 Yemen strikes, including warplane launch times, in a second, separate Signal group chat called "Defense | Team Huddle." The 13-member chat included Hegseth's wife Jennifer Hegseth, his brother Phil Hegseth (a Pentagon DHS liaison), and Hegseth's personal lawyer — none of whom held a national-security role.
Hegseth shared classified Yemen strike plans in a Signal chat that inadvertently included a journalist
On March 15, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed Yemen strike operational details — aircraft types, weapons packages, and attack timing — in a Signal group chat roughly two hours before the strikes began. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had created the chat on March 11 and inadvertently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on March 13, who published his account on March 24-25 after the administration disputed his description of the content.
DEA agent used Illinois detective's Flock login for 24 unauthorized immigration searches
On January 27-28, 2025, a Drug Enforcement Administration Group 22 task force agent identified only by the initials "B.K." used Palos Heights, Illinois police detective Todd Hutchinson's Flock automated license-plate- reader login to run 24 searches logged as "immigration violation" investigations. Illinois law bars using the state's license-plate-reader network for immigration enforcement.
2024 Events (1)
Shelby County, Tenn. deputy misused plate-tracking database to track ex-wife 100+ times; charged with stalking, harassment
On August 8, 2024, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office relieved deputy Thadius Gordon, 38, of duty with pay and he was charged with stalking and harassment after an audit found his ex-wife's license plate had been searched roughly 20 times over a four-day span and more than 100 times in total through a law-enforcement plate-tracking database. Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner confirmed the database access and said the office was reviewing its policies; Gordon's attorney disputed the stalking characterization, saying Gordon's contact concerned her safety rather than surveillance.
2022 Events (1)
Former Kechi, Kan. police Lt. Victor Heiar arrested for using Flock cameras to stalk estranged wife
On October 26, 2022, Wichita police arrested then-Kechi, Kansas Police Department Lieutenant Victor Heiar, 32, after discovering he had used his access to the Wichita Police Department's Flock license-plate reader system to track his estranged wife's location without any law-enforcement purpose. Heiar pleaded guilty to computer crime and stalking, both misdemeanors, and was sentenced in April 2023 to a 24-month term probated to 18 months.
2021 Events (1)
Former Frazer Township, Pa. officer Michael McSherry pleaded guilty to stalking estranged wife he tracked with department's license-plate reader
Former Frazer Township, Pennsylvania police officer Michael McSherry was arrested September 28, 2021 and later pleaded guilty to stalking and official oppression for a months-long campaign against his estranged wife, Alexandria Griffith, that included logging into his department's license-plate-reader system at least 85 times between August 28 and September 15, 2021 to track her vehicle and her mother's, a hidden GPS tracker discovered under her car, a nanny camera, and repeated threats. On September 10, 2021, responding officers found McSherry holding a loaded handgun during a domestic incident in which he had thrown the couple's four-year-old son to the ground and threatened self-harm before a brief standoff ended in his arrest; a second arrest on September 28, after search warrants turned up additional phones and tracking devices, brought the stalking and computer-misuse charges. A Westmoreland County judge sentenced McSherry to 11.5 to 23 months in jail plus five years of probation, with several felony counts -- including child pornography and terroristic threats -- dismissed as part of the plea agreement.