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Hall County, Georgia sheriff's investigators misused Flock license-plate cameras for personal searches; two fired after audit

The Hall County, Georgia Sheriff's Office confirmed on August 25, 2026 that it had fired two investigators, Justin Brown and Michael Atkins, after an internal audit of its Flock automated license-plate-reader system found both had used it for personal reasons unrelated to law enforcement. Termination records show Brown accessed the system approximately 250 times between January 2 and July 30, 2026 and was terminated August 19; Atkins was found to have accessed it on at least four occasions and was terminated August 24, with Brown's case referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for a criminal investigation.

Part of: Police Using License-Plate Camera Networks to Stalk

Jurisdiction
Georgia
Location
Gainesville, Georgia

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Justin Brown (Investigator, Hall County Sheriff's Office)
  • Michael Atkins (Investigator, Hall County Sheriff's Office)

On August 25, 2026, the Hall County, Georgia Sheriff's Office (HCSO) confirmed that two of its investigators, Justin Brown and Michael Atkins, had been fired after a self-initiated internal audit of the department's Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) system found both had used it for personal reasons unrelated to law enforcement. Termination records obtained by Now Georgia show Brown's unauthorized use began January 2, 2026 and continued through July 30, during which he accessed the Flock system approximately 250 times; HCSO said the searches involved at least two license plates for purposes unrelated to any legitimate law-enforcement function, and Brown was terminated August 19. Atkins was found to have accessed the system on at least four occasions for personal use and was terminated August 24.

HCSO Criminal Investigations Bureau Maj. Bradley Parks called the misuse "an embarrassment to our agency" and said the department remains committed to using Flock only for legitimate law-enforcement purposes. The department referred Brown's case to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for a criminal investigation; as of this reporting no charges have been announced. Atkins' internal-affairs review and termination paperwork remained open, and HCSO's open-records officer said fuller records on both investigations -- including what Brown searched for and why -- will not become releasable until ten business days after each internal-affairs review closes, under Georgia's Open Records Act.

Why we recorded this

Officers given access to government surveillance databases are trusted to use that access only for legitimate law-enforcement purposes, not personal reasons. Two Hall County, Georgia Sheriff's Office investigators instead used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader network for personal, non-law-enforcement searches -- one of them roughly 250 times over nearly seven months -- before an internal audit caught the activity. This archive records officers converting a public-safety surveillance tool into an instrument of unchecked personal use, part of a recurring pattern of Flock misuse the archive has already documented in other departments.

Sources

  1. Fired Hall County investigator used Flock about 250 times for personal reasons — Now Georgia primary accessed August 27, 2026
  2. Hall County Sheriff's Office investigators fired following Flock audit — Atlanta News First primary accessed August 27, 2026

See also