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Milwaukee Officer Charged With Attempted Misconduct Over Alleged Abuse of License‑Plate Reader

Prosecutors say audit logs showing repeated on‑duty lookups triggered his suspension plus a required resignation.

Overview

  • Milwaukee County prosecutors filed one misdemeanor count of attempted misconduct in public office against Officer Josue Ayala for allegedly misusing a Flock license‑plate database to track a dating partner and that person's ex.
  • The criminal complaint alleges Ayala ran the partner's plate 55 times and the ex's 124 times while on duty, entering the single word "investigation" as the reason for each search.
  • MPD says Ayala has been on full suspension since December and was required to resign from his District 2 post, with a tentative resignation agreement pending.
  • Police Chief Jeffrey Norman defended the department's use of Flock technology, said accountability is enforced, and indicated the department may reduce the number of officers with system access.
  • Court records say one alleged victim discovered the lookups via a watchdog site that tracks Flock activity, and prosecutors note the maximum penalty if convicted is up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.