4 SPD employees arrested for Flock misuse; Second GBI investigation now underway into another agency

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Four Savannah Police Department employees were arrested Friday and booked into the Chatham County Jail following a GBI investigation, and a second GBI investigation is now underway involving another agency.

Six employees total were fired from the department two weeks earlier.

Arrests and charges

The four employees arrested are 48-year-old Marquis Dillard, 23-year-old Donald Phillips, 39-year-old Matthew Rich and 34-year-old Calandic Thomas.

Three are officers, and Thomas is a community service specialist.

Each is charged with misuse of a license plate reader system, and the three officers are also charged with violation of oath of office.

They are accused of running Flock license plate searches on personal acquaintances and family members.

According to the city of Savannah, Corporal Marquis Dillard spent 10 years with SPD, most recently as a homicide detective before his termination.

Officer Phillips was employed with SPD for 2 1/2 years.

Corporal Rich was with SPD for 13 years prior to his firing.

Thomas, who served as a community service officer, was with the department for just under 3 years.

Second agency under investigation

One officer is also accused of giving an outside agency unauthorized access to the system. That outside agency is now under investigation by the GBI as well, the agency confirmed Monday, though it would not say which one.

City leaders respond

Mayor Van Johnson called Friday a sad and sobering day for the city.

“To be totally honest, I’m disappointed, I’m pissed off about it,” Johnson said prior to the arrests.

“We entrusted these individuals with advanced technology—and even more importantly—with the public’s trust. Nobody is above the law, and everyone trusted with public confidence is accountable,” Johnson said.

Police Chief Lenny Gunther said he expects all department employees to act with integrity, professionalism and respect for the law.

“The actions of a few do not reflect the dedication and professionalism of the men and women who honorably serve our community every day,” Gunther said.

Audit findings

Out of 39,000 Flock searches so far this year, 127 were flagged during an audit. That audit helped SPD determine 34 of those searches were unjustified.

Georgia has the second-most Flock cameras of any state in the country. There are 106 Flock cameras in the city of Savannah alone.

Timeline

• July 27th: SPD’s internal investigation began.
• July 29th: SPD requested the GBI investigate.
• August 7th: The firings happened.
• August 21st: The arrests occurred.

WTOC has reached out to determine who the other two fired-but-not-arrested employees are.

Three aldermen were contacted for reaction to the arrests and had not responded as of Monday night.

Chief Gunther said he is working to add a formal policy governing Flock camera usage. The audit-assist tool will also conduct weekly inspections moving forward to identify potential misuse earlier.