Amber Harpe, a former Savannah police officer, provided her husband—identified in audio as Tyler Harpe, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent—with her username and password for the department’s Flock license plate reader system, according to documents obtained by WJCL 22 News. The records show that Harpe acknowledged sharing her credentials and understood she was not permitted to do so.
An internal audit flagged an unusually high volume of searches from Harpe’s account between January and July 2026. The audit identified 983 search entries involving 97 identifiable license plates from Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. South Carolina plates accounted for the bulk of the activity: 48 plates generated 788 search entries. Department documents noted that most of the registered vehicle owners identified in the audit were Hispanic.
During a July 27 administrative interview, Harpe told investigators she did not recognize many of the names linked to the searches and said her husband performed most of them. She attributed the searches involving Maryland and South Carolina plates, along with most of those involving Georgia vehicles, to her husband. Harpe said she rarely used Flock herself and generally accessed it to help investigate missing‑person cases involving behavioral health patients.
Harpe’s husband told investigators he used the account to locate ICE targets who had active arrest warrants. He said every search was related to his federal law‑enforcement work and denied using the system for personal reasons. He estimated he used the account for about four months, stopping roughly three weeks before his August 3 interview because the agency no longer conducted vehicle stops. Harpe gave a slightly different timeline, saying her husband stopped about a week before her interview because she feared disciplinary action.
The Savannah Police Department fired Harpe after concluding she knowingly gave an unauthorized person access to a sensitive police system, violated department policy and compromised safeguards designed to track who was using law‑enforcement data. The investigation did not find that Harpe violated Georgia’s law governing automated license plate readers; the disciplinary case centered on an SPD information‑management policy prohibiting employees from allowing unauthorized people to access city or department software.
Supervisors initially disagreed on punishment. Interim Maj. Max Nowinsky recommended an eight‑hour suspension, citing Harpe’s poor judgment but noting no evidence of personal gain. Maj. Michelle Halford and Assistant Police Chief Robert Gavin recommended termination, emphasizing the intentional sharing of credentials, the recurring unauthorized access and the scale of the activity. Halford wrote that SPD does not participate in federal immigration enforcement and warned that the arrangement exposed the department to legal and reputational risks.
Harpe appealed the firing, arguing that her husband is a certified federal law‑enforcement officer and that every search was conducted for law‑enforcement purposes only.
Key facts
- Amber Harpe shared her Flock license‑plate reader login with her ICE agent husband.
- The audit showed 983 searches involving 97 plates from six states, with 48 South Carolina plates accounting for 788 entries.
- Harpe’s husband said the searches targeted ICE subjects with active warrants and were for law‑enforcement use.
- The Savannah Police Department fired Harpe for violating policy by granting unauthorized access.
- Supervisors differed on discipline, with some recommending suspension and others termination.