A Sumter County sheriff’s detective has been arrested and fired after an internal audit showed that she performed 47 illegal searches in the automated license plate recognition system in order to monitor her husband’s ex-wife, authorities said.
According to investigators, Brandy Almany, 40, who started working at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in 2019, made the searches in the Flock camera system from April through July. All of the searches targeted one particular license plate number, investigators added.
The audit further revealed that the woman accessed two other restricted databases: the state’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database, called DAVID, and the court records database.
According to investigators, she put fake case numbers to make the searches look like those related to legitimate investigations.
Almany admitted that the searches were personal and explained that she tried to help her husband find out his ex-wife’s routine so he could serve the civil papers more easily, according to the sheriff’s office.
When asked why she did it, Almany responded, “Because I am stupid.”
Almany was fired after the investigation. Information about the charges she may face, or whether she has a lawyer who can comment on her behalf, is not yet available.
The sheriff decided to suspend the use of all Flock cameras by the agency until a thorough review of the system and its accessibility by deputies is conducted.
