Savannah Police Officer Fired After Sharing Flock Login With ICE Husband
A Savannah police officer lost her job following an internal department investigation which determined that she had shared her system login information with her husband, who is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
Department Investigation Leads to Officer Firing
An internal investigation conducted by the Savannah Police Department resulted in the firing of former officer Amber Harpe in August. According to findings reported by <a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/1013573/spd-officer-fired-flock-ice-husband">The Verge</a>, the investigation revealed that Harpe shared her private Flock login credentials with her husband, Tyler Harpe, who serves as an agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Savannah Police Department explicitly does not share its Flock data with ICE. Consequently, department officials stated that providing an outside federal agent with direct access to the system constituted a direct violation of established security protocols.
Extensive Searches Focused on Hispanic Drivers
During the period in which he held unauthorized access to the automated license plate recognition platform, Tyler Harpe conducted a total of 983 searches involving 97 unique license plates. Local reporting by Savannah’s ABC affiliate <a href="https://www.wjcl.com/article/gas-money-calculator/74146634">WJCL</a> indicated that these targeted license plates were overwhelmingly registered to Hispanic drivers.
In their defense, the Harpes argued that the searches were not performed for personal reasons. Instead, they maintained that the queries were conducted strictly for legitimate law-enforcement purposes, attempting to justify the cross-agency credential sharing despite department rules.
Disagreements Over Disciplinary Action
The disciplinary process leading up to Amber Harpe's termination involved internal debate among department leadership. Initially, Interim Major Max Nowinsky recommended a relatively light punishment consisting of an eight-hour suspension for the policy infraction.
However, that recommendation was challenged by Major Michelle Halford and Assistant Police Chief Robert Gavin. They strongly disagreed with the minor suspension, ultimately pushing for and securing her removal from the police force.
Broader Fallout and Multiple Arrests
The investigation into system misuse extended well beyond a single incident. Additional details regarding the broader enforcement actions and subsequent employment consequences are detailed further in coverage surrounding an officer being <a href="https://gizmodo.com/cop-fired-for-letting-her-ice-agent-husband-use-her-flock-login-2000827428">fired</a> for similar breaches.
In total, Amber Harpe was fired alongside five other Savannah Police Department employees following the internal inquiry into Flock misuse. Although four of those six dismissed employees were subsequently arrested as part of the fallout, Amber Harpe was notably not among those arrested.
Sources
- The VergeA Savannah police officer gave her Flock login to her ICE agent husband
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