MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WFRV) – A Milwaukee Police Officer has been suspended pending a tentative resignation agreement as he faces one charge of attempted misconduct in public office.
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The Milwaukee Police Department said that it learned in December that one of its officers had been accused of improperly using Flock technology for personal use.
Many law enforcement groups nationwide use the Flock system to search for license plates for investigative purposes only; however, Officer Josue Ayala was charged on Tuesday with one count of Attempted Misconduct in Public Office for improper use of the system.
A criminal complaint against Ayala alleges that he used the Flock system 55 times in two months to track a person’s license plate under the guise of ‘investigative purposes.’ The complaint also alleged that Ayala had searched for another victim’s license plate 124 times.
In total, Ayala is accused of running license plate searches for personal use on over 200 occasions for the two victims. The system requires an entered reason for a license plate search, and Ayala allegedly listed it as an investigation for each of the victims.
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Ayala was in a relationship with one of the victims, and he used the Flock system to search for both of them during that relationship.
If convicted, Ayala faces up to nine months in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
