Explosive Report: NC Detective Used Flock System to Track Ex-Lover Nearly 200 Times

On Thursday, Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White announced that he had fired a detective, referred her case to prosecutors, and indefinitely shut down the county’s Flock camera network after an audit he ordered found she had used the system to track a private citizen’s movements.

White said the audit turned up “a stream of highly unusual activity," particularly that Detective Janet Leonard had been “routinely utilizing the Flock system to track the every movement of a single private citizen.” He called the conduct “unacceptable, unconstitutional, and a complete violation of privacy by someone whose entire career should have been dedicated to protecting the public.” Leonard was terminated immediately. The findings were sent to the district attorney. No charges had been filed yet as of Friday morning.

“No one is above the law, especially not those who are trusted to enforce it,” White wrote.

Sources close to the sheriff’s office told Real Truth Media that the person Leonard tracked is believed to have been a former romantic partner. Those sources also say White ordered the audit himself after growing concerned that Flock’s built-in self-auditing might not catch abuse. He has long been skeptical of the product, they said, and became more cautious as criticism of the cameras spread across North Carolina.

The shutdown is the first time Flock cameras will not be used in Franklin County in nearly a decade. White said the cameras, associated equipment, systems, and servers are suspended while a broader review of prior use continues. Anyone found to have used the system for wrongdoing “will face immediate and significant consequences.”

Flock cameras feed data into a searchable network used by police departments nationwide. White did not say the technology is useless. He said it has been “an invaluable tool in solving crimes, catching criminals, and most importantly, locating missing people, particularly children.” Then he drew the line other agencies have been slower to draw.

“Just because a tool can be useful doesn’t mean it can’t be dangerous,” he wrote. “I will stop at nothing to keep our community safe and excellent beyond measure, but I will never allow it to come at the cost of your privacy and constitutional rights.”

That combination — aggressive crime-fighting paired with a hard limit on government power — is consistent with how White has governed since winning the office in 2022. A Republican and outspoken conservative, he has built his record on aggressive narcotics enforcement, school safety, and a blunt public style that rejects political correctness in favor of telling the unfiltered truth to Franklin County citizens. He is running for re-election this November.

The Flock debate has grown sharper this year across the country. Towns and counties have ended contracts. Audits elsewhere have turned up improper searches, including officers using the network in personal disputes. Many law enforcement leaders have defended the cameras while saying they trust internal logs to police their own people. White’s move is different: he treated a single detective’s abuse as reason enough to take the entire system offline until he is satisfied it cannot be turned against residents.

“Citizens deserve transparency, and a government they can depend on to keep them safe, not a government that can be weaponized against them,” he said.

Sources say the district attorney’s review is ongoing, as is Sheriff White’s internal investigation. For now, the Flock cameras in Franklin County are dark as White's office explores ways to keep citizens safe without jeopardizing their rights.