Overview
- Apache Junction Police said the internal investigation finished and the officer resigned before he could be fired, a development the department disclosed at a Monday briefing.
- Investigators found the officer used the department’s Flock automated license-plate reader in April to locate his wife, asked two AJPD dispatchers to run the plate while saying it was a welfare check, and told Casa Grande police he had tracked her with ALPR data.
- AJPD restricted the officer’s system access, put him on administrative leave when the matter was flagged, and opened the inquiry after dispatchers and the other agency raised concerns to supervisors.
- Chief Michael Pooley said the conduct did not become a criminal case because Arizona law does not currently make intentional personal use of ALPR data a crime, and he said the department plans to review safeguards.
- The incident follows other Arizona moves to audit or end Flock contracts, and experts and advocates are urging regular audits, stricter access controls, employee training, clearer public rules, and possible state-level laws to prevent misuse.