A former Jackson County Sheriff's deputy is facing felony charges after investigators say he searched the same license plate through the department's Flock camera system 2,055 times, allegedly using a fake justification to cover his tracks. Skylar Thompson was charged with official misconduct, a Level 6 felony, and fraud, a Class A misdemeanor, following a routine internal audit that flagged the unusual pattern of searches.
According to WAVE News, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office discovered the searches during a routine audit of its Flock camera system. Court documents obtained by the outlet, drawn from a probable cause affidavit, allege Thompson listed “City Planning/Traffic Analysis” as his reason for the searches, despite not being assigned to any city planning or traffic analysis duties. It remains unclear whether Thompson was terminated or resigned, and he is no longer employed by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
Prosecutors Allege a Personal Motive Behind the Searches
While the paperwork behind the searches cited a bureaucratic-sounding rationale, local reporting points to something far more personal. WIBC reported that the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office alleges Thompson used his Flock camera access specifically to stalk an individual. The affidavit cited by the same outlet places the bulk of the searches on the same plate as recent as August 2, with the pattern of repeated queries reportedly stretching back to the end of 2025.
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, per the WAVE News report, said law enforcement access to sensitive information and investigative tools must be used only for legitimate law enforcement purposes. The office added that no person is above the law, especially those entrusted with enforcing it. Authorities have issued a warrant for Thompson's arrest, and the criminal charges against him remain allegations that have not been proven in court.
Independent Investigation and a Department Under Scrutiny
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has contacted Indiana State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the matter, the station's report notes. It is the second time in recent weeks that Jackson County has turned to state investigators for outside review: Sheriff Rick Meyer's office also requested an independent Indiana State Police investigation in mid-August following an in-custody inmate death at the county jail in Brownstown, according to WHAS11. Meyer, who leads the department serving the county's roughly 46,000 residents, was re-elected in 2022, according to Ballotpedia.
Before joining Jackson County, Thompson had already built a multi-year career in southern Indiana law enforcement. Per the Seymour Tribune, he served as a deputy with the Scott County Sheriff's Office for three and a half years before being sworn in as a Brownstown police officer in January 2023, following five years in law enforcement and seven years in the U.S. Army Reserve.
How the Audit Caught the Pattern
Flock Safety's license plate reader usage policy requires every user search to log the operator's username, timestamp, and specific purpose, creating permanent audit logs meant to allow department oversight, according to Flock Safety's own published policy. Those logs are exactly what appear to have exposed Thompson's activity. This year, Flock Safety also implemented mandatory audit assistance software across its platform designed to automatically flag anomalous search patterns, such as repeated queries without valid case numbers, according to a report from KESQ.
Thompson's case is not an isolated one. Just five days before charges were filed against him, Shively Police in Kentucky arrested Officer Asad Zahir after an audit revealed he ran 2,048 unauthorized Flock camera searches to track his child's mother, according to the Lexington Times. Zahir was charged with multiple counts of official misconduct and computer access violations after Flock's audit system flagged the activity. Statewide, according to data compiled by Eyes Off Indiana, law enforcement officers have conducted 5,877 unauthorized license plate camera searches across four documented cases through August.
What Thompson Faces Under Indiana Law
Official misconduct under Indiana Code § 35-44.1-1-1 is classified as a Level 6 felony, carrying a sentence of six months to two and a half years in prison along with fines of up to $10,000, according to legal guidance published by Keffer Hirschauer LLP. The Class A misdemeanor fraud charge Thompson faces carries its own exposure: under Indiana Code § 35-50-3-2, a conviction can bring up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $5,000, per Banks & Brower. Law enforcement officers accessing Flock data are required to provide a legitimate law enforcement reason for each search, a standard prosecutors allege Thompson repeatedly circumvented.
