Georgia police officer loses job after her ICE agent husband runs 983 Flock searches

A Savannah, Georgia, police officer lost her job after sharing her Flock camera system login with her husband, a federal immigration agent who then used it to run 983 license plate searches.

Here's what to know

Former Savannah Police Department officer Amber Harpe gave her username and password to her husband, Tyler Harpe, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Gizmodo reported. An internal audit later flagged 983 search entries on her account between January and July, covering 97 license plates from six states.

According to WJCL, 788 of those searches were tied to South Carolina plates, and investigators found most of the registered owners in that group were Hispanic. In a July 27 interview, Amber Harpe said she did not recognize many of the names and that her husband had conducted most of the searches.

In audio obtained by WJCL, Tyler Harpe told investigators on Aug. 3, "Every name that I ever ran was an ICE target." He said he wanted access so it would be easier to locate people "while we're out on the street" after target packages and arrest warrants had already been prepared.

More background

Investigators did not find that Amber Harpe violated Georgia's automated license plate reader law. The statute allows law enforcement agencies, including federal ones, to share captured plate data with other law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

Instead, she was fired for violating Savannah Police Department policy that bars unauthorized people from accessing city or police software. SPD Interim Major Max Nowinsky reportedly cited state law when recommending only a one-day suspension rather than termination.

In her appeal, Harpe argued that firing her was too severe because her husband was "a certified law enforcement officer with the Department of Homeland Security" and that "every search he conducted was for law enforcement use only and not for personal gain," according to Gizmodo. Assistant Police Chief Robert Gavin denied that appeal in August.

Harpe was one of six Savannah police employees fired in August after audits that included Flock's Audit Assist tool. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later arrested four of the others over alleged personal searches, though Harpe was not charged.

What's being done?

ICE is investigating Tyler Harpe's involvement, according to WTOC. In a joint statement to WJCL, the mayor's office and police department said that an outside agency's investigative purpose "does not, by itself, authorize access to SPD's system."

Flock has long argued that its audit logs are the safeguard against misuse. In a previous company blog post, CEO Garrett Langley said, "It is because of Flock's built-in, permanent audit logs that these officers are held accountable."

Communities nationwide are also pushing back. NPR reported that fears that local Flock data could aid federal immigration enforcement have led some cities to deactivate cameras or cancel contracts.

Lawmakers are paying attention as well. Secure Justice, an Oakland advocacy group, has tracked 446 local actions to terminate, suspend, or not renew Flock contracts, while Democrats and Republicans in Congress have introduced bills aimed at reining in Flock and other license plate reader systems.

Savannah officials ultimately framed the episode as a warning about who controls powerful surveillance tools in a community, saying, "Unauthorized access to police technology by anyone is a breach of Savannah Police Department policy and public trust," per Gizmodo.

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