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October 19, 2026 · Brunswick County, NC · Policy

Brunswick County, North Carolina sheriff overhauls Flock rules after a former deputy is charged; commissioners debate the cameras

The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office rewrote its Flock license plate reader policy on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, 11 days after a former deputy was charged with six counts of misusing the automated license plate reader system (charged, not convicted), WECT reported Oct. 19. Indictments allege the former deputy used a county-issued phone to look up several plates "without legitimate law enforcement purpose." Per WECT, the new policy limits searches to investigators, supervisors and intelligence analysts; bans searches for family members, friends or acquaintances, political searches and searches based on protected characteristics such as race or gender; bars employees from altering or deleting audit records; and spells out initial and annual refresher training. WECT had reported earlier this month that 145 flagged records in the county's Flock system were archived and hidden from public records the day before the state investigation became public. At the commissioners' meeting on Monday, Oct. 19, sheriff's officials said in an unscheduled discussion that the number of people with Flock access has been cut from 79 to 49 and that storage in patrol cars and mobile units has been disabled, WECT reported. Commissioner Pat Sykes called it a privacy issue and has said she could soon move to cancel the county's Flock contract; the board, which paused new purchases last month, voted unanimously to pay for equipment already acquired under the existing contract, including 12 dash cameras.

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