Brevard County, Florida: a sheriff's deputy searched a former girlfriend's license plate in the agency's Flock license plate reader system while off duty, an internal investigation found; the deputy resigned after the investigation
WKMG News 6 reported, from Brevard County Sheriff's Office investigation records, that a deputy searched a former girlfriend's license plate once in the agency's Flock license plate reader system before the start of a shift. The search was logged as being for investigation purposes. The woman had emailed the sheriff's office with allegations about the deputy and told investigators that he once discussed watching her on the Flock system. She did not know whether her vehicle's location had been tracked. The deputy denied checking her registration to spy on her or out of revenge and could not give a reason for the query. The administrative investigation also examined other alleged misconduct that did not involve the Flock system. The sheriff stated an intent to terminate the deputy, who resigned on 27 May. News 6 found no indication of a criminal investigation.
- AI system
- Flock Safety license plate readers
- Flock Safety
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 19 August 2026
- Event location
- United States
- What the AI did
- Made a claim about the person
- Reported harm
- Exploitation or Abuse
- Whose AI use
- An institution’s AI use
- Setting
- Privacy · Relationships · Justice
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 4 claims: 4 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Flock Safety camera license plate reader system used by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office (investigation records as reported by WKMG News 6)
What Happened
News 6 obtained the Brevard County Sheriff's Office administrative investigation records. They show that the woman emailed the sheriff's office in March with allegations about the deputy, and that the agency opened an administrative investigation. She told investigators that the deputy had once discussed watching her on the agency's Flock camera license plate reader system, and said she did not know for certain whether he had tracked her vehicle's location. Investigators audited the Flock system and determined that the deputy had searched her license plate on one occasion before the start of a shift, with the search documented as being for investigation purposes. Investigators wrote that the deputy denied checking her vehicle registration to spy on her or out of revenge but could not provide any reason for querying her tag while off duty. The same investigation examined other alleged misconduct unrelated to the Flock system, some of which the deputy acknowledged. After the sheriff signed off on the investigation in May and expressed an intent to terminate, the deputy resigned on 27 May. News 6 reports no indication that the deputy was criminally investigated.
Reported harm
According to investigation records reported by WKMG News 6, a deputy searched a former girlfriend's license plate in the sheriff's office Flock system while off duty and without a stated reason. She told investigators he had spoken of watching her on the system.
Outcome
ResolvedThe sheriff's office opened an administrative investigation after the woman's email. The sheriff signed off on it in May and expressed an intent to terminate the deputy, who resigned on 27 May. A spokesperson referred News 6 to the investigation report, which does not mention a criminal probe.
What remains unknown
- When the search was made; the deputy was hired in September 2024 and the audit followed the woman's March email.
- What the search returned and whether the deputy viewed location records for her vehicle.
- Whether any criminal investigation or decertification followed.
- Whether the sheriff's office changed its Flock access or audit practice.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. News 6, citing sheriff's office investigation records, reports that an audit of the agency's Flock camera license plate reader system found the deputy had searched a former girlfriend's plate once before a shift. The body does not describe the technology. The Flock system is recorded as an automated license plate reader consistent with the held Flock rows. Only the Flock search is the AI part; the other misconduct findings in the report involve no AI.
4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported Sheriff's investigators who audited the agency's Flock license plate reader system determined that the deputy had searched a former girlfriend's license plate on one occasion before the start of a shift, and that the search was logged as being for investigation purposes.
Causal attribution. Investigation records as reported by News 6; the records were not read.
- clickorlando.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'When sheriff’s investigators later audited the agency’s Flock system, they determined'; 'had searched his ex-girlfriend’s license plate on one occasion prior to the start of his shift'; 'The Flock search was documented as being for “investigation” purposes.'
Reported The woman told investigators that the deputy had once discussed watching her on the Flock system. She did not know whether her vehicle's location had been tracked.
Causal attribution. Her statement to investigators as reported by News 6.
- clickorlando.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'once discussed “watching her” on the agency’s Flock camera license plate reader system, but she did not know for certain whether he had tracked her vehicle’s location'
Reported The deputy denied checking her registration to spy on her or out of revenge, and could not give a reason for the off-duty query.
Causal attribution. Investigators' report as quoted by News 6.
- clickorlando.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'denied checking her vehicle registration to spy on her or out of revenge but could not provide any reason as to why he queried her vehicle registration tag while off duty'
Reported The woman's email to the sheriff's office prompted an administrative investigation that also examined other alleged misconduct. The deputy resigned on 27 May after it was completed, and the report does not mention a criminal investigation.
Causal attribution. Records and the sheriff's office spokesperson as reported by News 6.
- clickorlando.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'ex-girlfriend sent an email to the sheriff’s office detailing numerous allegations against the deputy'; 'submitted his resignation on May 27, after the administrative investigation was completed'; 'the administrative investigation report, which does not mention a criminal probe'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- WKMG News 6 (ClickOrlando), 19 August 2026: Brevard Deputy of the Year quits after 'egregious misconduct' exposed(opens in new tab)
s1 · clickorlando.com · Local tv news · English · Inspected · 19 August 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read live in English on 2026-10-05 (WKMG News 6 / ClickOrlando, published 19 August 2026, updated 20 August 2026). Rests on Brevard County Sheriff's Office administrative investigation records obtained by News 6 and on the deputy's written statement. Applies to s1.
Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The search was made in the Brevard County Sheriff's Office system in Florida (News 6). The body does not say where the woman lives.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-05: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an officer-misuse case consistent with the held Flock rows, because the body describes the person whose plate was looked up. News 6 reports from investigation records that a deputy searched a former girlfriend's plate in the agency's Flock system once, off duty, and that she had told investigators he spoke of watching her on the system. One source, so every claim is reported. Neither person is named, and the unrelated misconduct findings are not described.
People described
A woman who had been in a relationship with the deputy and who reported the deputy to the sheriff's office (not named by the outlet)
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One person, the former girlfriend whose plate was searched (WKMG News 6 from investigation records). Exact 1.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Tags
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Brevard County, Florida: a sheriff's deputy searched a former girlfriend's license plate in the agency's Flock license plate reader system while off duty, an internal investigation found; the deputy resigned after the investigation. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brevard-county-florida-sheriff-deputy-flock-alpr-former-girlfriend-plate-search-resigned
BibTeX
@misc{2026_brevard_county_florida_sheriff_deputy_flock_alpr_former_girlfriend_plate_search_resigned,
title = {Brevard County, Florida: a sheriff's deputy searched a former girlfriend's license plate in the agency's Flock license plate reader system while off duty, an internal investigation found; the deputy resigned after the investigation},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brevard-county-florida-sheriff-deputy-flock-alpr-former-girlfriend-plate-search-resigned}
} Related cases
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