Former Savannah police officer Amber Harpe was fired in August after an internal investigation revealed she shared her department login for the Flock automated license plate reader system with her husband, Tyler Harpe, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who used the credentials to run nearly 1,000 searches across six states.
An internal audit discovered that Tyler Harpe conducted 983 searches involving 97 license plates between January and July 2026 using his wife’s username and password, while the Savannah Police Department does not share its Flock data with immigration authorities.
An Internal Audit Uncovers Nearly 1,000 Searches Across Six States
South Carolina generated the heaviest volume, accounting for 788 search entries, as investigators found that the searches spanned Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina after an internal audit flagged an unusually high volume of search activity running through Amber Harpe‘s departmental account. Further analysis revealed that the registered owners of the vehicles targeted in those searches were overwhelmingly Hispanic.
Tyler Harpe explained to investigators that he lacked direct access to the software through the Department of Homeland Security during administrative interviews where both officers acknowledged the arrangement.
I asked her if I could have her Flock login, and she asked what I was going to be using it for.
Tyler Harpe, ICE agent
Department records show Savannah police share Flock data with more than 1,700 agencies, but ICE is omitted from that list as Amber Harpe noted during questioning that no one really wanted to work with ICE, explaining why her husband lacked his own account credentials. He added that once target packages with active arrest warrants had been developed, the tool made it easier to locate individuals while working in the field.
Supervisors Clash Over Disciplinary Action
Interim Major Max Nowinsky recommended a light eight-hour suspension, noting that investigators found no evidence the searches served personal gain and pointing out Amber Harpe’s clean disciplinary record since joining the department in 2020, as the discovery caused a disagreement among Savannah police supervisors regarding the appropriate punishment. Nowinsky also observed that the activity did not violate Georgia’s automated license plate reader statute.
Assistant Police Chief Robert Gavin pointed out that while state law permits interagency data sharing, it does not authorize an officer to hand over a personal login to an outsider, after Major Michelle Halford and Gavin disagreed with the proposal and urged termination while emphasizing the intentional sharing of credentials.
Unauthorized access to police technology by anyone is a breach of Savannah Police Department policy and public trust. In this case, SPD determined that department policy was violated and terminated the employee. An outside law enforcement agency’s investigative purpose does not, by itself, authorize access to SPD’s system.
Savannah Police Department spokesperson, via WTOC
Amber Harpe Loses Her Job in an Internal Sweep
Amber Harpe was fired in August as part of a wider internal sweep that cost six Savannah Police Department employees their jobs. Amber Harpe did not face criminal charges while four of those dismissed workers were subsequently arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for personal misuses of the technology—such as running searches on romantic partners.
City records show she canceled her hearing after she initially appealed her dismissal and requested a hearing.
