An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer is facing termination after investigators determined he improperly used the department's automated license plate reader system to run hundreds of unauthorized searches. IMPD Chief Tanya Terry has suspended the officer and recommended that the Merit Board fire him, following an internal audit that flagged his activity in August.
Officer Came Forward Before Full Review Began
According to WIBC, IMPD flagged the officer's searches during the internal audit and moved him to administrative duty while investigators reviewed his activity, revoking his access to the license plate reader system in the process. Notably, per InkFreeNews, the officer came forward on August 6, admitting he had run “hundreds” of unauthorized searches on a select few license plates before the department's full administrative review even got underway.
Terry called the conduct a betrayal of public trust. “Using law enforcement technology or accessing confidential information for anything other than a legitimate public safety purpose is a serious violation of the trust our community places in us,” she said, per the same account. Criminal charges against the officer have not been announced, and both the criminal and administrative reviews remain ongoing.
Not IMPD's First Brush With Database Misuse
This isn't the department's first run-in with this kind of misconduct. Former IMPD officer Nicholas Cauley pleaded guilty in July to misdemeanor official misconduct after conducting an unauthorized license-plate lookup amid harassment allegations, according to WTHR. Cauley was sentenced to probation and surrendered his law enforcement certification as part of the plea deal.
A similar case surfaced downstate in late August, when former Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Skylar Thompson was arrested and charged with Level 6 felony official misconduct for allegedly running 2,055 unauthorized Flock camera searches on his then-girlfriend's license plate between December and August, as reported by WIBC. Investigators say Thompson logged his searches under false labels such as “city planning” or “traffic analysis.” Under Indiana law, a public servant who knowingly commits an offense while performing official duties can face a Level 6 felony.
New Rules Tie Every Search to a Case Number
IMPD has already tightened its rules around plate reader searches. As of August, officers must connect every search to a specific case or incident number and a crime code, and the department has added single sign-on tracking along with more frequent audits to limit unauthorized access, per WIBC's report. IMPD is folding those rules into a broader policy that officials plan to make public once finalized.
That broader overhaul, known as General Order 9.9, would separate automated license plate readers from the department's wider public safety camera policies entirely, according to CBS4 Indy. The IMPD General Orders Board, which will ultimately review the policy, did not vote on the proposal on Tuesday. IMPD's network currently includes 301 Flock Safety cameras positioned across Indianapolis as of August. Hoodline reported earlier this month that the same camera system helped nab two armed teens on the city's east side.
A Statewide Gap in Oversight
The scandal is unfolding against a backdrop of almost total regulatory absence. Indiana currently has no statutory framework governing automated license plate readers, leaving audit requirements, data retention windows, and disclosure protocols entirely up to individual departments, according to Eyes Off Indiana. The advocacy group, founded by a college student pushing lawmakers for mandatory guardrails, has estimated that 3,604 ALPR cameras were operating statewide as of August.
State Representative Jim Pressel, who chairs the House Roads and Transportation Committee, announced in August that he is drafting legislation for the 2027 General Assembly session to mandate routine department audits and annual state police oversight of ALPR systems statewide, per the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The push follows a national investigation published in August by The Washington Post about officers misusing Flock cameras.
