Marquis Dillard, Donald Phillips, Matthew Rich and Calandic Thomas #
Introduction #
Marquis Dillard, Donald Phillips, Matthew Rich and Calandic Thomas are former employees of the Savannah Police Department in Savannah, Georgia, who were fired and later arrested over the alleged misuse of the department’s Flock Safety license plate reader system. Dillard, 48, of Savannah; Phillips, 23, of Fleming; and Rich, 39, of Savannah, were sworn police officers, while Thomas, 34, of Pooler, served as a Community Service Specialist with the department. The Savannah Police Department terminated all four on August 7, 2026, after an internal audit of its Flock system flagged searches unrelated to legitimate police work, and GBI agents went on to arrest each of them in Chatham County. Dillard, Phillips and Rich each face two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office, while Thomas faces two counts of misuse. The GBI has said its criminal investigation remains active and that the allegations have not been proven in court.
Background Information #
At the time of the alleged offenses, Dillard, Phillips and Rich were employed as police officers with the Savannah Police Department, and Thomas was employed as a Community Service Specialist, according to the GBI. The department used the Flock Safety license plate reader system, technology that allows law enforcement to identify and search for vehicles captured by automated cameras, and every search run through the platform is automatically logged with the identity of the user, the time of the search and the stated reason. That logging enabled post-hoc review: SPD screened usage through monthly audits using Flock Safety’s Audit Assist program, which became available to the department in April 2026, and departmental procedures provided that any misuse of data could trigger an audit of a user’s search history. Beyond their ages, home cities and roles, the sources say little about the four men’s ranks or tenure with the department.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from a Savannah Police Department internal audit and GBI arrest warrants. They were never admitted by any of the four and have not been adjudicated in court; they are presumed innocent.
On July 27, 2026, the Savannah Police Department conducted an internal audit of its Flock Safety license plate reader system. The audit flagged searches that appeared unrelated to legitimate law enforcement work, and on July 29 the department formally requested that the GBI investigate. Preliminary information released by the GBI indicated that the four had accessed the Flock Safety System “for non-law enforcement purposes.” Before the arrests, SPD placed four officers and two civilian employees on administrative leave and referred all six cases to the GBI for independent criminal investigation; on August 7, 2026, the department announced it had terminated the four sworn officers and two civilian employees involved. On August 21, 2026, GBI agents arrested Dillard, Phillips, Rich and Thomas in Chatham County, and all four were booked into the Chatham County Jail. Dillard, Phillips and Rich were each charged with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office, while Thomas was charged with two counts of misuse; the GBI announced no violation of oath charge against him. SPD’s internal investigation found that the employees had run searches on personal acquaintances and family members rather than for official purposes, and investigators determined that one officer provided access to the Flock system to an unauthorized individual from an outside law enforcement agency. Authorities have not disclosed which vehicles or individuals were queried, and the GBI has not said whether the alleged searches were connected to one another.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said the department acted “swiftly, transparently, and decisively” once concerns about misuse were identified, and emphasized that Flock Safety tools exist “to keep our community safe, not for personal or unauthorized use.” SPD officials said their administrative investigation concluded that the employees violated policies governing authorized use of law enforcement technology and departmental resources, but city officials declined to release additional information about the individuals involved, citing the ongoing criminal investigation and an employee appeals process. The arrests drew coverage across Georgia and fit a broader reckoning over license plate readers in the state, where at least 20 officials statewide have been arrested for improperly accessing or using Flock’s surveillance database. Other agencies had faced similar episodes: the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office flagged three employees’ Flock accounts for alleged misuse, and three Richmond County sheriff’s deputies were terminated after improper access to the system. In Chatham County, concerns about surveillance and misuse also prompted the county police department to launch a Flock Transparency Portal allowing the public to view aggregate search data.
Current Status #
As of late August 2026, all four men are former Savannah Police Department employees, dismissed on August 7, 2026 and arrested by GBI agents later that month. All four were booked into the Chatham County Jail after their arrests. The GBI describes the investigation as active and ongoing and has asked anyone with information to contact its Regional Investigative Office in Statesboro. Once the investigation is complete, the case file will go to the Eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution. The GBI has emphasized that the criminal investigation remains active and that the allegations have not been proven in court, and the coverage consulted for this page records no court appearances, pleas or trial dates for any of the four.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
Each of the four lost his job with the Savannah Police Department in a single August 7 termination announcement, and each now carries criminal charges on top of the firing. For the three sworn officers, the violation of oath counts strike directly at their standing as law enforcement officers, while for Thomas the case carries the same stakes from a civilian role, with two misuse counts matching the officers’ core charges. Whatever the outcome of the pending prosecution review, the terminations, jail bookings and public charging documents leave all four former employees facing the consequences of the case in both their careers and their personal lives, with the appeal and court processes still ahead of them.