A Braselton police officer has been fired after an internal audit uncovered improper use of the town's Flock Safety license plate camera system, with officials confirming the misconduct occurred sometime during 2024 and 2025. The Town of Braselton says it took immediate action to hold the officer accountable and has referred the matter to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for further review.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, which cited the Braselton Police Department and Town Manager E. Ronald Bennett, Jr., an internal investigation revealed the improper use of the community's camera system, and the department has not released the fired officer's name. Town officials say they are not providing further comment while the GBI investigation remains active. An audit of currently authorized town employees found no additional misuse beyond the single case.
Interim Chief Zack Tiller said the past behavior occurred under a former administration, according to the same report — a distinction that carries particular weight in Braselton. The town's former police chief, Michael Steffman, resigned and was arrested by the GBI in November 2025 on felony violation of oath and stalking charges after he was accused of using the same Flock cameras to track multiple women, according to WSB-TV. Steffman died by suicide in April 2026, before his case went to trial.
New Safeguards Cut Camera Access Nearly in Half
To prevent further unauthorized searches, Braselton's police department reduced its authorized Flock system users from 23 to 14, restricting access to supervisors and specialized units, the town's report notes. Officers must now enter a specific case number and law enforcement purpose before accessing any data, and command staff conducts weekly log checks — safeguards the department says were implemented earlier in 2026.
Those internal controls are increasingly backed by automated technology. In mid-2026, Flock Safety rolled out an audit-assistance software tool that flags abnormal search patterns and unapproved query reasons, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The same software can automatically block users pending review, allowing agencies to audit historical database queries rather than relying solely on manual log reviews.
Part of a Statewide Reckoning
Braselton's firing is one piece of a much larger purge rippling across Georgia law enforcement. More than 40 officers and department employees statewide have been fired, suspended, or criminally charged in 2026 as agencies conduct internal Flock audits, with cases surfacing in Albany, Savannah, Gwinnett County, and Hall County, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's reporting. The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council was tracking at least 38 open disciplinary cases tied to camera misuse statewide as of September, according to WSB-TV.
Hall County, which includes part of Braselton, just wrapped its own reckoning. An internal audit completed in September flagged 85 suspicious searches out of 758 total queries, leading to seven Hall County Sheriff's Office employee departures, consisting of three terminations and four resignations, and criminal referrals to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or Hall County Solicitor, FOX 5 Atlanta reported separately. Hoodline has covered related cases in the region, including a fired Hall County investigator, three officers ousted in Gwinnett, and a Covington officer facing GBI felony charges.
Why Public Records Won't Fill the Gaps
Officers found to have misused license plate reader data in Georgia are frequently charged under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1 with felony violation of oath by a public officer, a charge carrying one to five years in prison, according to Justia Law's compilation of the state code. Non-official database queries can separately amount to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature under Georgia Code § 35-1-22, which restricts captured license-plate data to legitimate law enforcement purposes and requires agencies to destroy non-investigative data within 30 months.
That same statute exempts captured license plate reader data from the Georgia Open Records Act. That leaves internal command logs, automated software flags, and GBI criminal referrals as the primary mechanisms for catching misuse — a gap civil liberties advocates have pointed to as a core tension in the rollout of surveillance networks like Flock.
Braselton, a town spanning four counties — Jackson, Hall, Gwinnett, and Barrow — is located roughly 43 miles northeast of Atlanta along the Interstate 85 corridor.
