Vero Beach police Officer Chayse Hatfield is the second law enforcement official in Indian River County - and third across the Treasure Coast in recent weeks - to be investigated for possibly misusing the Flock Safety system, police confirmed. Hatfield was placed on paid administrative leave amid the probe. Details on the investigation were not immediately available. "The Vero Beach Police Department was recently contacted by a news organization regarding allegations involving the potential misuse of the Flock Safety system by a department member," Vero Beach police officials said in a statement. "The Department takes these allegations seriously and has initiated a formal investigation into the matter. The department member involved has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation." Sgt. John Finnegan with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office was also placed on paid administrative leave for <a href="https://veronews.com/2026/09/14/sheriffs-sgt-on-paid-leave-amid-investigation-into-misuse-of-flock-system/">an investigation into him potentially misusing the automated license plate reader system</a>. Further details on that investigation were also not available. "Prior to this incident, the agency had already begun an audit of its Flock camera system," Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, previously said. "The audit remains ongoing." Fort Pierce police on Sept. 8 announced the arrest of now-former officer Josepher Crutchfield on four felony counts of unauthorized computer access of the Flock system. Crutchfield – one of dozens of law enforcement officers nationwide suspected of misusing the high-tech tag reader system – resigned Aug. 18 before the end of the criminal investigation, according to police. Fort Pierce police said Crutchfield accessed the Flock database 382 times to query his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle between Oct. 2025 and July 2026. Crutchfield used multiple different "reason" categories, which were for no legitimate law enforcement purposes. Most of the searches were made while Crutchfield was off-duty, police said. Officers said Crutchfield also accessed other law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center, the Florida Crime Information Center, the Driver and Vehicle Information Database and TransUnion’s TLOxp to search the woman’s vehicle. After Crutchfield’s arrest, Fort Pierce police authorized a comprehensive audit of the entire department’s use of the Flock database. The audit in Fort Pierce remains ongoing, police said. The Florida Department of Transportation on Monday, Aug. 31,<a href="https://veronews.com/2026/08/31/law-enforcement-agencies-prepare-to-remove-license-plate-readers-after-state-memo/" data-wpel-link="internal"> ordered all automated license plate readers on state highways to be removed</a> within 30 days. The command came after nationwide reports of misuse, data privacy concerns and surveillance schemes. <a href="https://veronews.com/2026/09/08/flock-cameras-successful-tool-in-solving-criminal-investigations-law-enforcement-officials-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Indian River County law enforcement agencies</a> said they will comply with the order. There are other automated license plate readers – not located on state highways – in the county that will not be moved.