Colleton County, S.C. sheriff's lieutenant fired over 62 unauthorized Flock camera searches, including his spouse's vehicle

On August 31, 2026, the Colleton County Sheriff's Office fired Lt. Kevin Smalls after an internal audit found he had conducted 62 unauthorized searches of the department's Flock license-plate-reader system over a six-month period. The audit found the searches included queries on vehicles registered to Smalls's spouse and other acquaintances — personal-interest lookups outside any law-enforcement purpose.

Colleton County Sheriff Guerry Hill Jr. said he had asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate Smalls for potential criminal conduct, and that the department "remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of the Flock technology" and would continue cooperating with SLED. The investigation was active as of early September 2026.

Smalls is the second Colleton County Sheriff's Office lieutenant fired over Flock misuse within the same month. Lt. Ruben Carter was terminated August 20, 2026, after a separate audit found he had made more than 2,700 unauthorized searches involving 14 people over roughly a year, including searches on fellow deputies, friends, and former associates. The two officers' cases were uncovered independently through the same department-wide audit process, and nothing in the reporting describes their conduct as coordinated.