Staff Contributor
From Treasure Coast News- TCPalm.com
Prosecutors won’t charge ex-Pinellas County deputy Karl Gwynne over Flock Safety license plate searches, saying Florida law doesn’t cover it. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the case may reopen.
By Jack Lemnus | Treasure Coast Newspapers | Updated Nov. 6, 2026, 7:58 a.m. ET
Prosecutors have dropped the case against a former Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy accused of misusing Flock Safety automatic license plate readers to track a woman he wanted to date.
State Attorney Bruce Bartlett’s office concluded it would not prosecute Karl Gwynne, 57, because “the current Florida statutory provisions do not address the wrongful conduct reported,” according to an Oct. 30 court…
From Fox 13
Ex-Pinellas deputy accused of tracking estranged wife using FLOCK, sheriff says: ‘Started on Valentine’s Day’
By Summerleigh Stones FOX 13 News Pinellas County
Published
November 5, 2026 6:02 PM EST
The Brief:
-A former Pinellas County deputy faces four felony charges after authorities say he tracked his estranged wife using law enforcement databases.
-Audits revealed more than 100 unauthorized FLOCK and driver’s license searches between February and June.
-The suspect resigned one day prior to his arrest and remains held on a $20,000 bail.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A former Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Thursday morning after investigators discovered he unlawfully accessed law enforcement databases more than 100 times to stalk his estranged wife, according to the sheriff’s office.
Our Opinion:
First, stop calling them License Plate readers.. it’s absolutely surveillance. That pet-peeve aside…
I’m not sure how this was not a crime. I guess for the “Stalking” part of this scenario is that he didn’t physically approach, follow or harass? now regarding the misuse of the equipment of Data Base…. That would certainly seem like some sort of crime, granted it’s not like he hack into anything, but the misuse question is seeming to fall in the -It’s a Policy and not a law- category???
In the overall theme this is appear to be a “Typical” action police officers do. Granted not always in a quasi stalking effort, but running a license plate just to find out some info like who a person is where they live, is not a new thing. So we get back to what is an illegal search?
Are we behind this tech? YES, so maybe efforts moving forward is to change that imbalance?
