A Waukegan police officer has been charged with five felony counts of official misconduct after investigators say he misused law-enforcement databases and automated license plate readers, including numerous searches involving vehicles registered to his own department's employees and people associated with them. Officer Oscar Magpali was placed on administrative leave once the allegations surfaced, and he's due in court next month as the department works through a department-wide technology audit still in progress.
Magpali was charged with five counts of official misconduct, each a Class 3 felony, according to Shaw Local. Authorities allege he misused law enforcement databases, including automated license plate readers, as reported by Fox 32 Chicago. An initial review identified numerous searches of vehicles registered to Waukegan Police Department employees and people associated with them, the Shaw Local report notes.
How the Investigation Unfolded
The Waukegan Police Department notified the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and launched a criminal investigation through its Criminal Investigations Division, per the same Fox 32 Chicago account. The probe included a review of electronic and departmental records, witness interviews, and activity logged in the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System and the National Crime Information Center, Shaw Local reports. NBC 5 Chicago reports investigators did not offer further details about what the technology was used for.
Magpali was placed on administrative leave after the initial allegations surfaced, according to the Lake and McHenry County Scanner. He's scheduled to appear in court on November 3. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said officers are trained not to use the state's LEADS system for personal reasons, telling the outlet, “Any officer who violates these well-settled legal rules will face consequences.”
Department Launches Wider Review
Beyond the charges against Magpali, Waukegan has launched a department-wide audit of officers' use of law-enforcement databases. The audit remains ongoing because of the volume of records that need to be reviewed, the Lake and McHenry County Scanner notes. It's meant to identify potential misuse, evaluate compliance with department policies and applicable regulations, and determine whether more oversight is needed, per the same report.
Illinois regulators already require tight controls over the systems at the center of the case. Under state rules, each agency connected to LEADS must keep computer devices under the direct control and supervision of authorized criminal-justice personnel, keep them inaccessible to unauthorized people, and provide adequate physical security against unauthorized access to equipment or stored data, according to the Illinois General Assembly.
Part of a Broader Pattern Around Illinois
Magpali's case is not an isolated one. In recent months, several other Chicago-area police officers have been accused of misusing Flock and other license plate reader systems, Shaw Local reports. Flock's cameras track every driver that passes them, logging billions of license-plate scans in databases that can potentially be searched by any law enforcement agency that pays for access, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Former Joliet police lieutenant Jeremy Harrison was accused of abusing the Flock database while serving with the Joliet Police Department, and he now faces charges of computer tampering and official misconduct in Will County, per the Sun-Times. He's described as at least the third known law-enforcement officer accused of misusing the database in Will County in 2026 alone — a list that includes former Itasca officer Marisa Ciccola, who faces 13 felony counts of official misconduct and eight counts of computer tampering, along with a Will County sheriff's deputy placed on leave amid similar allegations.
The pattern extends beyond Illinois. In Wisconsin, former Kenosha County sheriff's deputy Frank McGrath was hit with felony charges after an audit revealed he'd used Flock to spy on a co-worker, the Sun-Times reported. In Indiana, five Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were charged with misusing the agency's license plate reader technology, according to ABC News. ABC News described the pattern of alleged misuse as a trend around the country.
Back in Waukegan, Police Chief Elias Agalianos said the department holds officers to high standards and investigates misconduct allegations thoroughly and impartially regardless of who is involved, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Agalianos added that the department is responsible for investigating such allegations with the same rigor no matter the officer's rank or tenure.
