SHIELDS OF SHAME • GEORGIA FLOCK MISUSE DATABASE • CASE 030
John Lee McKenzie III: Richmond County Flock Misuse Arrest — and the Scandal That Grew to Six
A sheriff’s lieutenant was arrested after investigators alleged personal use of the Flock license plate database. Then two more employees were arrested, and the sheriff revealed how many deputies had once been able to search the system without supervisor approval.
The July 20 arrest
On July 20, 2026, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announced that Lt. John McKenzie, Investigator Curtis Hoskins and Deputy Joshua Johnson had been arrested and terminated following separate investigations into alleged misuse of its Flock license plate reader database. The Sheriff’s Office said the employees knowingly searched plate information for personal reasons unrelated to criminal investigations, calls for service, intelligence gathering or another authorized law-enforcement purpose. Each faced charges identified as Misuse of License Plate Readers and Violation of Oath of Office. All three reportedly surrendered at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
The arrests and terminations are documented events. The underlying criminal allegations remain allegations unless proved in court. The public reports do not establish that McKenzie, Hoskins and Johnson coordinated their searches.
How many searches did McKenzie make?
A secondary case archive describes more than 100 allegedly unauthorized searches attributed to McKenzie and identifies him as supervisor of the Fleet Division. This count is not independently verified here against an original Flock audit export or charging affidavit. The original Sheriff’s Office announcement cited by CBS and WJCL established personal-purpose searches but did not specify a McKenzie-only count. A full audit should identify exact queries, dates, entered justifications, plate identifiers and returned results.
New update: the four-officer scandal became six
The earlier Shields of Shame report counted four Richmond County employees arrested in connection with Flock: Jaquarius Yarbrough on June 25 and McKenzie, Hoskins and Johnson on July 20. That figure is now outdated. On August 31, 2026, Investigator Sean Morrow and Deputy Jose Ferrer were also arrested, charged with license plate reader misuse and violation of oath, and terminated. Georgia Public Broadcasting and WJBF reported the later arrests. As of the September 4 news coverage, six Richmond County employees had been arrested and fired in the expanding Flock investigation.
The August arrests do not prove any of the six cases involved the same targeted vehicles, shared motives or a coordinated scheme. The agency said its inquiry was continuing.
The sheriff’s September 4 admission: roughly 330 users, nearly 200 cameras
At a September 4 news conference, Sheriff Eugene Brantley described the agency’s previous Flock access model. Approximately 330 deputies had access to nearly 200 cameras, according to WRDW’s investigation. Previously, an authorized user could log in and search a plate without requesting supervisor approval for each query. That number is an agency statement about access and cameras, not proof that 330 employees misused the system.
Brantley said access has since been restricted. Direct access now goes through shift supervisors and the intelligence division, with requests tied to a case number, a reason and an officer badge number. Deputies may still receive alerts, but new searches are subject to the revised process. The sheriff said he himself did not have Flock access. He also described a Flock anomaly-detection tool introduced in April and subsequent manual reviews, including searches not flagged automatically.
Those statements change the oversight question: How many unauthorized searches were made before the new restrictions, and how many would have escaped automated anomaly detection without manual review?
McKenzie’s Georgia POST record: terminated employment, active credentials in historical snapshot
The historical POST information cited in the original Shields of Shame investigation, dated August 19, showed McKenzie’s Richmond County employment ending July 20 with the separation reason Terminated. At that time, his Basic Law Enforcement and Jailer certifications were still marked ACTIVE, while the overall profile read File Review Required. It also listed an investigation opened July 24, marked Awaiting Acceptance and Assigned. These are historical administrative entries, not a live verification of current credentials. Termination, investigation, suspension and revocation are distinct outcomes.
McKenzie’s supplied training history should be evaluated alongside the agency’s Flock policy acknowledgments and permissions. The mere existence of completed law-enforcement training does not establish the substance of his alleged database activity.
Read John Lee McKenzie III’s supplied training record PDF ↗
Richmond County’s Flock expansion and public spending
Shields of Shame’s earlier research found Richmond County promoting Flock as a crime-fighting tool in 2021, when the Sheriff’s Office reportedly controlled only two cameras at undisclosed locations. Augusta’s 2023 public-safety grant announcement allocated approximately $1,255,017.50 to RCSO’s Axon body-camera and Flock initiatives. Its FY2026 budget materials included $1 million for body-camera and Flock contracts. Those budget figures are not equivalent to a verified expenditure total for Flock alone.
The September 4 disclosure of nearly 200 agency cameras offers a more direct contemporary measure of the RCSO network than community camera maps, which can include private and other-agency cameras.
Timeline: from one audit to six arrests
- 2021: Richmond County publicly discusses expanding its Flock camera network.
- 2023: State grant supports Axon and Flock initiatives.
- April 2026: According to Sheriff Brantley, Flock introduced an anomaly-detection auditing capability later used in RCSO reviews.
- June 25: Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough fired and arrested after alleged personal-purpose searches.
- July 20: McKenzie, Hoskins and Johnson arrested and terminated.
- July 24: McKenzie POST investigation reportedly opened.
- August 19: Historical POST screenshot records terminated employment but active basic and jailer credentials.
- August 31: Sean Morrow and Jose Ferrer arrested and terminated, bringing the total to six.
- September 4: Sheriff describes the former 330-user access model, nearly 200 cameras and tighter supervisor-mediated access.
- October 12: No verified final McKenzie criminal disposition identified in this research.
Evidence library: five original assets
Reporting and independent sources
Original Shields of Shame Richmond County investigation ↗
CBS Atlanta: July 20 arrests and charges ↗
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: statewide audit findings ↗
WRDW investigation: 330 users, nearly 200 cameras, no prior per-search approval ↗
WRDW: supervisor-only access and September safeguards ↗
Georgia Public Broadcasting: Morrow and Ferrer arrests ↗
Secondary case archive: McKenzie search-count claim and updates ↗
Related Shields of Shame case: Jaquarius Yarbrough ↗
The records that could settle the biggest questions
- McKenzie account audit: all plate queries, timestamps, user identifiers, case-number entries, reasons, search results, exports and audit alerts
- Initial trigger: original anomaly report and all communications that led investigators from Yarbrough’s case to McKenzie
- Access permissions: pre-September roster of approximately 330 users, account creation and revocation dates, and who could approve or audit searches
- Controls before and after: all versions of Flock policy, supervisory review requirements, training, signed acknowledgments and September restrictions
- System footprint: camera inventory, location, contract terms, agency sharing permissions, retention settings and actual annual costs
- Criminal case: McKenzie’s arrest affidavit, booking record, warrants, indictment if any, docket, motions and final disposition
- POST: current certification profile, July 24 investigation file and any later final disciplinary order
- Independent review: total audited users and searches, false-positive/false-negative anomaly rates and findings involving other employees
Frequently asked questions
When was John Lee McKenzie III arrested?
July 20, 2026, alongside Investigator Curtis Hoskins and Deputy Joshua Johnson.
What was he charged with?
Misuse of License Plate Readers and Violation of Oath of Office, according to the Sheriff’s Office and contemporaneous reporting.
How many Richmond County employees have been arrested over Flock misuse?
Six were reported by September 4, 2026. The original four-person headline is no longer current.
Was supervisor approval required for searches?
Not previously for every query by an authorized user, according to Sheriff Brantley’s September 4 explanation. New controls route requests through supervisors and intelligence staff.
Was McKenzie’s certification revoked or was he convicted?
Neither a final POST revocation nor a final criminal disposition was independently verified here. The August 19 POST snapshot showed active basic and jailer credentials and an open administrative review.
Updated October 12, 2026. Charges are allegations; the accused is presumed innocent unless proved guilty. Historical POST data is not a live status check. Specific search totals drawn from secondary reporting require original audit verification.