Richland County, S.C. deputy Russell Kenton II fired, arrested for misusing Flock camera system
Richland County Sheriff's Department deputy Russell Kenton II, 35, was fired and arrested for misconduct in office on July 29, 2026, after a July 24 audit by the department's Professional Standards Division found he had used his access to the Flock license-plate-reader system to research information unrelated to law enforcement purposes. Sheriff Leon Lott announced the termination and arrest; RCSD's public statements did not specify what information Kenton searched or why. Kenton was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and released on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.
Actors
- Russell Kenton II (former Deputy, Richland County Sheriff's Department)
On July 29, 2026, the Richland County Sheriff's Department fired and arrested Deputy Russell Kenton II, 35, for Misconduct in Office after an internal audit found he had misused his access to the department's Flock license-plate-reader system. The Professional Standards Division's audit, conducted July 24, found Kenton had used the system to "research information that was not for law enforcement purposes," according to the department's press release; neither the release nor subsequent local reporting specified what information Kenton searched for or why.
Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement announcing the firing and arrest, "I hold my deputies to a higher standard because of the trust our community places in them. Any act that violates that trust is unacceptable and will not be tolerated." Kenton was transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and released on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.
The firing came amid a wave of similar Flock-misuse disclosures across South Carolina and nationally. South Carolina Public Radio reported the same week that the Greer Police Department and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office had also announced terminations over improper Flock use, and that no state legislation regulating the cameras had yet passed the South Carolina General Assembly.
Why we recorded this
Law-enforcement access to license-plate-reader networks like Flock is authorized for investigative purposes, not personal research. An internal audit found Richland County Sheriff's Department deputy Russell Kenton II had used his access to the Flock system to look up information unrelated to law enforcement, leading to his firing and arrest for misconduct in office. This archive records the event because it shows a public-safety surveillance tool being turned to unauthorized personal use with no safeguard that caught it until an after-the-fact audit did.
Sources
- News Release: Former Deputy Arrested — Richland County Sheriff's Department primary accessed September 3, 2026
- Richland County deputy fired, arrested for misusing Flock camera system — WIS primary accessed September 3, 2026
- Midlands deputy arrested for misusing Flock camera system as regional distrust mounts. What we know. — The Post and Courier secondary accessed September 3, 2026
- Flock camera controversy: another law enforcement officer accused of misuse — South Carolina Public Radio secondary accessed September 3, 2026
See also
- Executive Office of the President awarded a no-bid contract to Parscale's Campaign Nucleus for Freedom 250 sites that collected visitors' data
- Palm Beach Post investigation reveals Boynton Beach police sergeant misused restricted database to collect women's personal data
- GBI: Internal audit found five Albany, Georgia officers misused Flock license-plate data
- Court filings revealed ICE and the State Department shared Iranian detainees' asylum records with Iran's government
- Greene County, Ga. deputy misused Flock database to track a license plate for three months, fired and charged
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