Sumter County, Florida detective misused police databases and Flock cameras to track husband's ex-wife, was fired and arrested

On July 23, 2026, the Sumter County, Florida Sheriff's Office fired and arrested Detective Brandy Almany after an internal audit found she had misused her access to restricted law-enforcement databases to track her husband's ex-wife. The audit, conducted that day, found Almany had circumvented normal procedures to search the Comprehensive Case Information System (CCIS), the Flock Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) network, and Florida's Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) for personal reasons unrelated to any Sheriff's Office investigation.

Investigators said Almany created official electronic records that falsely represented the searches as legitimate Sheriff's Office investigations, citing unrelated case numbers to disguise their true purpose. The case was referred to the Office of the State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which authorized an arrest warrant the same day; Almany was charged with official misconduct and multiple counts of offenses against computer users and was notified of her pending termination upon arrest.

Sheriff Patrick Breeden said in a statement that he had promised accountability and would not tolerate conduct that fails the department's standards, and announced he was suspending all use of Flock cameras departmentwide and ordering a full audit of the agency's database access pending the outcome of the investigation.