BRASELTON, Ga. — A woman accusing the Braselton police chief of stalking her was denied a protective order against him before his arrest.
Channel 2 Action News reported last week when Michael Steffman, retired and resigned from his position as the chief of police. The same day, he was arrested on charges of violating his oath and using Flock cameras to stalk people.
The woman living in Braselton filed for the protective order against him, but a judge denied it in August.
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She said Steffman used Flock cameras to track her location and called her from multiple phone numbers on several occasions, according to the petition.
The woman also said the former police chief had followed her to a neighborhood, watched her to go to a house then sent her a map of the area.
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On another occasion, the petitioner said Steffman “tracked me going to Gas South Arena.”
The woman requested a 1,000-yard protective order be granted for 12 months, along with a court restraint on any contact from Steffman.
The judge denied the request the same day.
“While past conduct is concerning, there is no credible evidence that the petitioner could present on this day to support current allegations of stalking,” the judge wrote in the decision.
The petitioner was advised to file a report with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office about Steffman’s alleged conduct.
Steffman announced his resignation Nov. 19. The same afternoon, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced his arrest on accusations of using surveillance cameras to stalk and harass people.
As previously reported by Channel 2’s Michael Doudna, the GBI said their investigation started with a tip but after working with Flock, it collected enough information to charge Steffman with misusing the technology.
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