APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — An Apache Junction police officer resigned before he could be terminated following an internal investigation that found he improperly used Automated License Plate Reader technology to locate a family member, ABC15 has learned.
The Apache Junction Police Department confirmed the investigation is complete and will hold a media briefing Monday at 1 p.m. at the department's headquarters.
Watch the news conference in the video player below:
The officer accessed law-enforcement technology for a purpose unrelated to an authorized law-enforcement investigation or official police business, the department said.
Investigators found the officer contacted two AJPD dispatchers and asked them to run a family member's license plate, representing the request as a welfare check. After helping with the request, the dispatchers recognized concerns about the circumstances and notified their supervisor, escalating the matter through the department's chain of command.
A separate law-enforcement agency also independently contacted AJPD after the officer reached out to that agency requesting a welfare check on the same family member. During that interaction, the officer disclosed he had used ALPR technology to locate the family member within that agency's jurisdiction. That agency immediately notified AJPD.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
AJPD placed the officer on administrative leave when the investigation began. ABC15 has learned the officer resigned before termination proceedings were completed.
Chief Michael Pooley is expected to address the incident at Monday's briefing, including the department's response and the safeguards and accountability measures tied to its use of ALPR technology.
The briefing will also cover how ALPR technology works — what information the system collects, how AJPD uses it to investigate crimes and locate vehicles of interest, and the policies governing employee access according to the department.
AJPD said it takes the responsibility associated with access to law-enforcement databases and technology extremely seriously, and that access must only be used for legitimate and authorized law-enforcement purposes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as a preferred source on Google below:
