3 Richmond County officers charged as Flock license plate reader investigations continue across Georgia

Three more Georgia law enforcement officers, including a lieutenant, are facing charges after investigators said they misused Flock license plate reader technology.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said Lt. John McKenzie, Investigator Curtis Hoskins and Deputy Joshua Johnson turned themselves in Monday after the agency concluded a criminal investigation into the alleged unauthorized use of the Flock Camera System.

According to the sheriff’s office, all three officers used the system to search license plate numbers for reasons “unrelated to any official law enforcement purpose.”

Investigators said the officers accessed the surveillance technology for personal reasons, violating the sheriff’s office’s policies.

McKenzie, Hoskins and Johnson were fired and charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office.

The arrests come weeks after another Richmond County deputy was charged in a similar case. In June, investigators said Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough, who was assigned to the Transportation Division, used the Flock system for personal reasons and made multiple searches involving the same license plate over the course of a month.

Yarbrough was fired, charged and booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

Last week, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of former Sgt. Kabiru Salawu after an internal investigation found he had made unauthorized use of the agency’s Flock Safety technology. Salawu had worked for the sheriff’s office since Aug. 24, 2009, according to the agency.

At least 12 other metro Atlanta law enforcement officers have also been terminated for similar alleged misconduct. The investigations remain ongoing.