Sarasota police officer fired, arrested in Flock camera case

A 38-year-old now-former officer was arrested today and charged with a pair of felonies and another offense in connection with a Sarasota Police Department investigation into improper uses of official databases, the department said in an afternoon news release.

Cory Waiters was fired from the department Wednesday, as well.

An internal investigation started after the agency learned Aug. 6 that Waiters potentially misused law enforcement-only search databases, including DAVID and Flock. An internal affairs investigation was initiated immediately, resulting in a criminal investigation, and the officer was placed on paid administrative leave Aug. 7.

SPD said an agencywide audit was performed last week and found compliance.

In an arrest warrant, investigators reported finding Waiters, as recently as June, had searched for a specific Florida license number connected to a 2025 Land Rover SUV, registered to a Sarasota-area woman. The tag had previously been assigned to a 2016 Infiniti SUV, registered to the same woman. According to a probable cause affidavit, the woman told investigators she had been in a relationship with Waiters from February/March 2025 to late May or early June of the same year.

In an email to the department in early August, a reporter had asked SPD about Waiters' searches, as they had been revealed in a publicly available log of license-plate queries. The reporter wrote the same Florida tag had been sought 335 times by Waiters between mid-May and July of 2025, always referring to it as a "suspicious vehicle.''

Access to the system requires acknowledgement by the user that the purposes comply with state/federal laws and that such use is monitored, SPD said. The department over the last few years has increasingly employed electronic devices such as cameras, license-plate readers and other equipment in its Real-Time Operations Center.

Flock cameras and their associated databases have come under recent privacy criticisms. The DAVID system, according to legal experts, refers to a Driver and Vehicle Information Database.

“We take allegations of misconduct seriously. When an agency member’s actions fall short of the standards and professionalism we expect, we will address it appropriately and without hesitation,” said SPD Chief Rex Troche.

Charges filed against Waiters:

• Offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, a felony.
• Official misconduct, a felony.
• Violating public records law, a misdemeanor.

The officer is being held in the Sarasota County Jail. He had been with the department since 2023.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Sarasota Police Detective Kim Laster at 941-263-6827.