Former Echols County Sheriff’s Office employee arrested for allegedly accessing FLOCK data, stalking

ECHOLS COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) - A former Echols County Sheriff’s Office employee was arrested for allegedly accessing FLOCK cameras to obtain license plate data, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Anna Altobello, 33, was charged with 8 counts of misuse of license plate data, one count of stalking, one count of stalking - family violence and violation of oath of office.

Last month, the Echols County Sheriff asked GBI to investigate after learning that Altobello, the then-secretary at the sheriff’s office, had accessed the FLOCK account for a “non-law enforcement purpose.”

The GBI investigation alleges that Altobello searched for the tag information of two people on multiple occasions. GBI said those people are both known to her.

FLOCK camera systems have been a topic of controversy, however, Echols County Sheriff Randy Courson said it’s a useful tool when used correctly.

When asked about this incident, he said this was unfortunately a rare case of it being used improperly and the sheriff’s office is working to add additional policies to help prevent things like this from happening in the future.

“We have to address it, of course, and we will,” Courson said. “Because we want to make sure that this tool is utilized the correct way from now on.”

While FLOCK says cameras are unavoidable in today’s world, FLOCK can find out who uses the data they track.

“There’s already cameras everywhere. The difference with FLOCK is we actually create an auditable system that you know exactly how it’s being used and how it’s not being used,” Josh Thomas, Chief Communications Officer for FLOCK said. “And if it ever is going against that, there’s a trail there that can prove it and show that somebody was using this to break the law.”

There are currently two FLOCK cameras in use in Echols County, according to the sheriff.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected, according to GBI.

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