What to know:
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a former deputy accused of improperly accessing or using the county’s Flock Safety system after leaving the department.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation could lead to criminal charges.
The sheriff’s office emphasized that the alleged unauthorized access occurred after the individual was no longer employed by Oakland County in any capacity.
Officials have not released information about what information was accessed, how the system was allegedly misused, or the full scope of the investigation.
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. — A former Oakland County sheriff’s deputy is under investigation, accused of misusing the Flock Safety system after leaving the department.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it has launched an investigation and said criminal charges are possible.
“We want to be clear that, at the time of the unauthorized access, the individual was no longer employed by Oakland County in any capacity,” the sheriff’s office emphasized in a statement.
The revelation sparked sharp criticism Tuesday from residents during a meeting of the county Board of Commissioners’ Public Safety and Health Committee. Several members of “I Am Oakland County,” a group that has opposed the county’s use of Flock cameras for months, and another resident demanded immediate changes and broader scrutiny of who can access sensitive data.
“I’m exasperated,” said group member Tracee Guibord during the meeting.
“I can’t believe that our county commissioner or any government official is supporting these Flock and AI cameras,” Oakland County resident Pete Trzos said.
Mike Flores, another member of I Am Oakland County, called for a comprehensive review of technology access for anyone who has left county employment.
“I would hope that in light of this information that there is a complete audit of all ex-Oakland employees to make sure that they do not currently have any access to any Oakland County technology,” Flores said.
Group members said they were particularly frustrated because, at a commission meeting last month, representatives from the sheriff’s office defended the Flock system, insisting the system isn’t the issue; governance is.
At that meeting, an official said: “So, this policy sits on top of all of our policies, and it says that you may not give out or even look at any of this unless you have a permissible reason and you follow our policies and our orders.”
Guibord called that stance misleading.
“That’s deceptive. I want to see them gone,” she said, referring to the Flock cameras.
Details on the alleged misuse and the scope of the current investigation have not been released. But retired police captain Mario Bastianelli, now chief administrative officer at Fortis Group, said such a probe is likely to be extensive.
“Figure out when and how that was accessed and then putting it together and figuring out, yeah, are there witnesses that need to be involved? How did you utilize that system, what did you do with that information?” Bastianelli said.
The sheriff’s office said it cannot provide additional information at this time.
A spokesperson for the county commissioners’ public information office acknowledged receiving questions from Local 4 about whether there will be a pause or discontinuation of Flock use in Oakland County but did not immediately provide an answer.
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