BRASELTON, Ga. — On Wednesday evening, Braselton Police Chief Michael Steffman announced he was retiring and resigned from the department for personal reasons. He was booked and charged, accused of using police cameras to stalk and harass people.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it started with a tip, but after working with Flock, it collected enough information to charge the top law enforcement officer with misusing the technology that is meant to stop crimes.
The eyes in the sky are always watching, a tool for law enforcement.
“We want our tools to be used for good, but they’re just that, they’re tools,” said Josh Thomas of Flock told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
But GBI says Steffman misused Flock’s automated license plate recognition systems to harass and stalk multiple individuals.
“A couple of months ago, the GBI reached out to us and said they had some tip that there was maybe a law enforcement officer who was using the system illegally,” Thomas said.
Thomas says Flock handed over a log that is built into the system that allows them to see how, when and why the tech was used.
“Whether you’re a patrol officer, a detective or the chief of police yourself, every single thing you do in the Flock system is permanently captured and auditable,” he said.
However, for some, like Emory professor Rajiv Garg, watching the watcher will become harder as the technology becomes more widespread.
“This is a challenge with all tech that becomes more accessible,” he said.
Rajiv said he believes more guardrails need to be in place to better prevent officers or police chiefs from misusing the tech.
“If these actions are not taken, we will see the loss of support from the public,” he said.
But for those at Flock, they are disappointed that the technology may have been misused but say they have measures in place to catch those abusers.
“At the end of the day, our goal with our system is to help stop crime, whether that is on the streets or in the back office,” Thomas said.
Court documents state Steffman bonded out of jail.
Channel 2 did reach out to the numbers found for Steffman, but the calls were not answered.
Following Steffman’s resignation, Town Manager Jennifer Scott said Zack Tiller would serve as the interim police chief in Braselton.
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