ATHENS, Ga. – A University of Georgia Police Department IT employee used the agency’s license plate reader system to conduct 85 unauthorized searches involving his wife’s hit-and-run crash and a theft at a private business, according to an internal affairs investigation.
Ben Stephens had administrative access to manage the department’s Flock system, but that access did not authorize him to investigate cases on his own. Investigators found he searched for two vehicles without supervisory approval or requests from the agencies handling the incidents.
The department sustained violations of its license plate reader policy and employee conduct standards against Stephens. Crime Analyst Megan Thompson also received a sustained conduct violation and a letter of reprimand following the investigation…