On July 29, 2026, the Savannah Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to examine findings from an internal audit of the department’s Flock Safety system. GBI’s preliminary information indicated the subjects had accessed Flock for non–law-enforcement purposes.
On August 21, 2026, GBI announced the arrests of four former Savannah PD employees: officers Marquis Dillard (48), Donald Phillips (23), and Matthew Rich (39), plus Community Service Specialist Calandic Thomas (34) — Thomas is a civilian employee, not a sworn officer. The three officers were each charged with two counts of Misuse of a License Plate Reader System and one count of Violation of Oath of Office; Thomas was charged with two counts of Misuse of a License Plate Reader System. All four were booked into the Chatham County Jail.
GBI said the completed case will go to the Eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney. Specific plate targets and personal relationships were not detailed in the GBI release.
Officer/Official: Marquis Dillard, Donald Phillips, Matthew Rich, Calandic Thomas (civilian specialist)
Date of incident: August 21, 2026
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