Letter to the Editor: Concerns About Flock Camera Use and Records Requests in Jackson County, N.C.

(Editor’s Note: Click on any of the images view at a larger size).

Dear Editor, In light of your recent news report about the gross misuse of Flock cameras by county sheriffs and city police officers

, a family member of mine who lives in Jackson County, N.C., has a pending court case that has been ongoing for three years involving a deputy of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and his ex-wife. This officer is also a candidate in the Jackson County Commissioners race.

My family member and I feel that he is being targeted by this deputy and the Sheriff’s Department for several reasons, one of them being his being flocked by the sheriff’s office

. He is not on social media, so I went on the website that was put on TV so that citizens could check to see if they had been flocked. I ran all of his vehicle plates on “Have I Been Flocked” and sure enough he had been a total of four different times

. In the photo shown there were discrepancies in who the operator of the Flock system was

. And in one of those instances he was flocked for a total of 30 days (Photo #4) and the reason for the surveillance listed was “criminal investigation”

. There were only two of the flockings on the report, but the report says that he was flocked four times

One of his questions is: “Where are the reports for the two other times flocked and when did these occur?” The website states that persons who have been flocked can go to their local sheriff’s office and request a printout of the flocked report. He went to the sheriff’s office and requested those printouts, and they refused to give them to him (he has this request rejection on video), just like all of the reports he has requested involving his pending court case with this deputy and his ex-wife. He has submitted a written request for these documents as well as body cam footage, photos, and audio of the 911 call about his case and been denied.

He has spoken with the sheriff about his concerns with this deputy, who is also a personal friend of the county sheriff and is a candidate in the Jackson County Commissioners’ race, and has been treated horribly. This I feel is an abuse of power by law enforcement. He lives in fear of retaliation by the sheriff and the Sheriff’s Department. He read the story you published about the investigation and dismissal of the Macon County deputy and wanted me to reach out to you and see if your news outlet could reach out to him and listen to his story. He has requested to speak to internal affairs but was told by the sheriff’s office that there is no internal affairs. He doesn’t want to talk to the press in Jackson County because of fear of them having close ties with the parties involved. This whole thing has him scared as well as paranoid in the county he lives in and pays taxes in. He would love to speak with the reporter who investigated the Macon County deputy story.

There is corruption in these small mountain counties, and it needs to be brought to light, addressed, and stopped. Again, he is not on social media at all and asked me to reach out to you. He has a very interesting case that I feel needs to be heard and addressed, and the Sheriff’s Office and that deputy need to be investigated on the state or federal level. If you think you could help him get his story to the right people and possibly get some investigation started into the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, my family member has given me permission to share his story.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of his story.