Savannah Police Officer Fired After Sharing Flock System Login With ICE Agent Husband

Savannah Officer Fired After Sharing Flock Login With ICE Agent Husband

The Tech TL;DR:
• Amber Harpe, a former Savannah Police Department officer, was terminated in August 2026 after internal audits revealed she shared her police database credentials with her husband.
• Her husband, Tyler Harpe, an ICE agent, used her username and password to execute 983 automated license plate reader searches across six states without direct federal system access.
• The Savannah Police Department maintains that it does not share its Flock license plate reader database with ICE, and unauthorized credential sharing directly violates agency security protocols.

A Savannah police officer lost her job in August 2026 after department investigators found she gave her login credentials for the Flock automated license plate reader system to her husband, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, according to WJCL. Internal audits flagged an unusually high volume of database queries running through Amber Harpe’s account between January and July 2026, uncovering a total of 983 search entries tied to 97 individual license plates across Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, according to WJCL. While the Savannah Police Department shares data with more than 1,700 agencies, ICE is not included on that list.

Internal Audit Exposes 983 Searches Across Six States

The unauthorized data access came to light when department auditors reviewed system activity logs on Amber Harpe’s account. South Carolina plates generated the vast majority of the activity, accounting for 788 search entries across 48 vehicles, according to WJCL. Department records noted that the registered owners of the vehicles pulled in the South Carolina group were overwhelmingly Hispanic. During a July 27, 2026, administrative interview, Amber Harpe told investigators she did not recognize many of the names returned in the search logs, stating that her husband performed the vast majority of the lookups while she primarily used the system to help investigate missing-person cases involving behavioral health patients.

When interviewed by Savannah police investigators on August 3, 2026, Tyler Harpe confirmed he asked his wife for her login credentials because his federal agency role did not grant him direct access to Flock, WJCL reported. He stated that ICE had already developed target packages for individuals with active arrest warrants, and using the local police software allowed him to attempt to locate them while working in the field. He estimated he utilized the account for approximately four months, stopping roughly three weeks before his internal interview because his agency stopped conducting vehicle stops.

Leadership Disagreements Lead to Termination of Amber Harpe

The investigation triggered stark disagreements among department leadership regarding appropriate disciplinary action. Interim Major Max Nowinsky initially recommended an eight-hour suspension for Amber Harpe, citing Georgia statute provisions that allow law enforcement agencies to exchange captured license plate data for law enforcement purposes. However, Major Michelle Halford and Assistant Police Chief Robert Gavin rejected the recommendation. Assistant Chief Gavin formally denied her appeal in August, leading to her termination.

Amber Harpe defended the system usage in her appeal, writing that every search conducted by her husband was strictly for law enforcement purposes rather than personal gain. The Savannah Police Department and the mayor’s office issued a joint statement emphasizing that unauthorized access to police technology constitutes a severe breach of department policy and public trust, according to WJCL. Amber Harpe was one of six Savannah police employees fired in August following audits executed via Flock’s Audit Assist tool. While four of the dismissed employees were subsequently arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for personal misuse of the data, Amber Harpe was not criminally charged.

Federal scrutiny continues to surround the incident. ICE confirmed it launched an internal investigation into its agent’s involvement in the unauthorized database queries, according to WTOC.

Disclaimer: The technical analyses and security protocols detailed in this article are for informational purposes only. Always consult with certified IT and cybersecurity professionals before altering enterprise networks or handling sensitive data.