Two longtime Indian River County sheriff's deputies each were arrested after officials said they conducted hundreds of unauthorized license plate searches using the Flock Safety database. The arrests come amid an ongoing investigation into misuse of the automated license plate reader system. "I want to ensure the public that you know that this is being used properly and that we're willing to hold those who use it improperly accountable," Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a Monday news conference at the agency. "Ensuring the public has trust in (the Flock system) is important to me and this agency. It's always a sad day when we have to report that trust has been violated and we have to arrest one of our own. Today, we arrested two." <a href="https://veronews.com/2026/09/14/sheriffs-sgt-on-paid-leave-amid-investigation-into-misuse-of-flock-system/">Sgt. John Finnegan</a>, a 19-year sheriff's office veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave in September amid Flock misuse allegations. He turned himself in to authorities on Monday. Finnegan, 41, who resigned before his arrest, was charged with accessing a computer or electronic device without authority. Finnegan was released Monday from the Indian River County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Finnegan's booking photo was redacted from the sheriff's booking site as part of a public record exemption. <a href="https://veronews.com/2025/11/17/irc-deputy-arrested-fired-after-stalking-woman-he-met-on-social-media/">Samuel Earman</a>, a former 10-year deputy who was arrested and fired last November on charges of cyberstalking and accessing a computer or electronic device without authority, faces additional charges that include four counts of offenses against computer users. He turned himself in Monday morning to be arrested. Earman, 36, was held Monday at the Indian River County Jail on a cash surety bond. His booking photo also was redacted from the sheriffs' booking site. <strong>Finnegan's Flock misuse</strong> Sheriff's officials began an internal audit regarding possible Flock misuse in August. A news reporter contacted deputies Aug. 27 about Finnegan's excessive searches. Finnegan, who was recently assigned to the school resource unit, conducted more than 900 improper license plate searches from 2024 to 2025, officials said. "Our team did question Finnegan. He admitted to all of the searches," Flowers said. "He cooperated with our detectives throughout the investigation." <strong>Earman's Flock misuse</strong> After Earman's arrest in November 2025, between 10-to-12 women came forward to deputies and reported stalking incidents regarding Earman. Detectives went back to the judge in May, and prosecutors filed an additional charge of unauthorized computer use associated with one of the women. As deputies conducted the ongoing Flock audit, more disturbing allegations against Earman began to surface. Deputies learned Earman was using several law enforcement databases to conduct improper searches. "As we conducted our ongoing Flock audit, we found that Earman had conducted over 200 searches of three different women which we were not familiar with," Flowers said. "We made contact with those women and our investigation into Earman continues." The sheriff said the agency is still early on in the audit of improper Flock usage. The sheriff's office has used the automated license plate reader system since early 2021. "We will continue to audit (Flock) on a quarterly basis," Flowers said. "I've been a big proponent of the Flock system. Since Flock and automated license plate reader technology began making national news, I've supported guardrails in legislation." <em>Photos by Joshua Kodis</em> [gallery ids="237944,237945"] <em>This story will be updated. </em>