TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) — An administrative review by the University System of Georgia (USG) has substantiated allegations that a member of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) Police Department improperly used an automated license plate reader system.

The findings follow previous reporting by WALB that ABAC Chief of Police Mike Tompkins was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this week. Ryan Hogan, vice president of enrollment, marketing, and student affairs, initially confirmed Tompkins was placed on leave but stated no additional information was available at the time.

Tompkins had been appointed chief of police effective Nov. 10, 2025, and was sworn in Dec. 16, 2025, after serving more than 17 years with the department.

In a statement, ABAC leadership says they received the investigation findings Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Effective Oct. 1, Acting Chief Douglas Chadwell has been appointed Interim Chief of Police for ABAC.

According to the college, ABAC does not own, operate, or maintain any Flock automated license plate reader cameras on campus, nor does it maintain its own network.

However, the USG review determined that an employee gained access to the Flock system through an outside local law enforcement agency and used it to conduct searches. Investigators concluded that certain searches were not conducted for an authorized law enforcement purpose and failed to comply with state requirements governing the use of law enforcement resources.

The college stated it will continue to cooperate fully with authorized state agencies and noted it will not comment further on personnel matters. ABAC added that campus police operations and emergency response services remain fully operational.

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