Athens police crime analyst fired for misusing Flock surveillance cameras

Nick Barker

By Joe Johnson

The civilian employee who oversaw crime analysis for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and also the agency’s Real Time Crime Center has been fired for misusing the county’s system of automated license plate readers.

The termination of the civilian supervisor was announced today by ACCPD in the following release:

On August 27, 2026, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department received a complaint from

the ex-wife of an ACCPD employee alleging the employee’s misuse of ACCPD’s Flock Automated

License Plate Reader (ALPR) system. ACCPD immediately initiated an internal investigation.

The initial investigation revealed that Criminal Intelligence Analyst Supervisor Nick Barker, a

non-sworn civilian employee, improperly used the ALPR system to search his ex-wife’s vehicle’s

license plate numerous times over the course of several months in 2025.

ACCPD’s ALPR policy strictly prohibits use of its system for personal or non-official law

enforcement purposes. The employee’s actions directly violate that policy. Based on the initial

findings, the chief of police took immediate steps to terminate the employee.

ACCPD requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) conduct an independent

criminal investigation, and the ACCPD Office of Professional Standards will continue a

concurrent administrative investigation.

Chief of Police Jerry Saulters said, “Trust is the foundation of our relationship with the

community we serve, and there is no greater responsibility than protecting that trust. I am

deeply disappointed by the former employee’s actions and their impact on the confidence our

community places in this department. Conduct that compromises that trust has no place within

the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, and we will continue to hold our employees to

the highest standards of integrity and accountability. To that end, I am committed to moving

forward with a complete examination of ACCPD’s ALPR technology and how we use these

systems.”

This remains an active investigation. Please direct any further questions or information about

this incident to the GBI