3 Hall County deputies resign after being accused of misusing Flock cameras

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Three Hall County deputies have resigned after allegedly misusing the agency’s Flock camera system, according to the sheriff’s office.

An ongoing audit of the department’s Flock automated license plate reader system found that Jason Orellana, Taylor McArthur and Austin Scott Flanagan used the system for non-law enforcement purposes, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said in a press release Tuesday.

Orellana, a deputy with the Uniform Patrol Division, submitted his resignation on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The agency’s internal investigation found that Orellana conducted 10 unauthorized searches on the Flock Safety system at the request of a co-worker who did not have access to the system. Orellana had been employed with HCSO since April 2019.

McArthur resigned on Thursday, Aug. 27, the same day she learned she was under investigation for violation of HCSO policies, the sheriff’s office said.

McArthur, a deputy assigned to the agency’s Jail Division, allegedly asked Orellana to check the Flock system for information on “persons known to her,” and gave Orellana the information to conduct the searches. McArthur had been employed with HCSO since April 2023.

The third deputy, Austin Scott Flanagan, resigned on Thursday, Aug. 27. Flanagan was already on administrative leave with pay for an Aug. 25 arrest for allegedly making harassing phone calls. He submitted his resignation while he was under investigation for that arrest, and for the unauthorized use of the agency’s Flock system.

Investigators determined Flanagan had accessed the system twice for personal reasons unrelated to law enforcement purposes. Flanagan had been employed with HCSO since November 2022.

HCSO has referred the alleged violations to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council for review as the agency’s internal investigation continues. The press release did not mention any criminal charges.

The three deputies are the latest north Georgia law enforcement officials to face accusations of misusing Flock cameras. Dozens of law enforcement officers have been fired and charged after their superiors said they abused the Atlanta-based Flock camera license plate tracking system.

Just last week, HCSO announced the firing of two of its investigators because of alleged Flock misuse.

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