A veteran Milwaukee detective is accused of turning a crime-fighting tool into his own private tracking system, and now he is facing a criminal charge over it.
Detective Tehranghi Chapman, 51, was charged Wednesday in Milwaukee County with misconduct in public office after prosecutors say he tapped the department’s Flock license-plate reader system and other police resources to track people who were not part of any official investigation. According to the complaint, Chapman allegedly ran roughly 20 unauthorized Flock searches over about six years and placed a GPS device on a person's car, with that tracker reportedly used 17 times between 2019 and 2025. Chapman, who has more than 22 years on the Milwaukee Police Department, has been on full suspension since March 13, 2026. Authorities also allege he ran a different person's plate three times on a single day in January.
According to WTMJ, the criminal complaint accuses Chapman of improper use of police resources and says he told investigators the lookups were done for "training" purposes. The station reports the charge surfaced during a broader review of how officers inside the department were accessing the Flock system.
How the charge connects to earlier Flock probes
Chapman’s arrest lands just months after another Milwaukee officer’s high-profile Flock scandal. Earlier this year, former MPD officer Josue Ayala pleaded guilty after prosecutors said he ran department Flock searches roughly 179 times to track a dating partner and her ex. FOX6 reported Ayala's plea on June 11.
The criminal complaint detailing Ayala's alleged searches is publicly available through Milwaukee Police Department filings and was used to build the audit trail that helped trigger both internal and criminal reviews. Those revelations pushed the department to tighten its auditing process and access controls for officers who use the Flock system.
MPD response and oversight changes
Milwaukee police say they strengthened oversight after the Ayala case erupted and told the city’s Fire and Police Commission in May that a second officer was under review, a disclosure reported by CBS58. Department officials continue to argue the technology is a valuable crime-solving tool when used correctly, and say new statistical audits and tighter limits on who can run Flock queries are supposed to flag questionable patterns much sooner.
What civil-liberties groups say
Privacy advocates say back-to-back allegations involving Flock searches show how quickly automated license-plate reader systems can slide from public safety into personal surveillance. In a statement, the ACLU of Wisconsin said the Ayala case “shows why we need transparency standards” and called for stronger public reporting requirements and firm guardrails on when and how police can access Flock data.
Next steps
Chapman is charged with misconduct in public office, and the case will move through Milwaukee County court. WTMJ reported that the court filing did not list a scheduled arraignment.
If Chapman is convicted, similar misdemeanor-level charges have carried penalties that include fines and up to nine months in jail, according to reporting on the Ayala plea by FOX6. The Milwaukee Police Department has said it will continue enforcing its newer audit procedures to prevent future misuse while the criminal case plays out.
