5 Indianapolis police officers charged with misusing license plate readers
Five Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were charged with misusing the agency's license plate reader technology, according to court records released on Wednesday.
Michael Rogers, Jonathan Schultz, Cassandra Crawley, Matthew Binford and Abigail Cramer were all charged by the Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor's office after the police department identified potential misuse of the technology and referred the investigation to county prosecutors.
The ranges of time on the police force were from 4 to 18 years, according to the IMPD.
In one case, Jonathan Schultz, an 18-year veteran of IMPD, allegedly utilized the agency's 300 Flock cameras to track down multiple women, including his ex-wife, and then allegedly proceeded to interact with them, based on their movements tracked by the cameras.
Schultz allegedly met one of the women at a workout class in 2023. She told police he allegedly had a "weird obsession with her based on comments he made after the workout class."
The affidavit alleges that he searched her plate in the system.
In another instance, Schultz allegedly conducted searches of a woman whom he met while she was at her place of employment in 2025, and after the interaction, he allegedly began texting her. He then reintroduced himself at a function a few months later.
"She told him it was creepy how he got her number and she said he tried to avoid that conversation. He said that he had to find her number because he spilt yogurt on his pants and told her, 'You know what that looks like'. She said Schultz made her uncomfortable with his actions and some of the comments that he made," according to the court record.
Continentally, he allegedly arrived at the gym always around the same time she'd be working out, and he allegedly searched her plate in the Flock database.
In a separate gym incident, he allegedly used a Flock search to find another person. He allegedly left a note on her vehicle after searching her plate more than 170 times over the course of three months, according to court records.
The other officers allegedly used the Flock system for personal reasons, and one officer allegedly used the system to track his ex-wife.
All five officers are now facing felony and misdemeanor charges.
"Automated License plate reader technology is a powerful law enforcement tool, and with that power comes the responsibility to use it lawfully and appropriately," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. "What is alleged in these cases is a gross misuse of that responsibility, and that conduct undermines the trust our community must have in law enforcement."
In a statement, the IMPD said Wednesday's charges represent a "a deeply disheartening and disappointing day for IMPD."
"These individuals' actions went far beyond a clerical error or a violation of department policy. These actions crossed into criminal conduct and shook the foundation of trust that our agency is built upon," Chief Tanya Terry said in the statement.
The charges represent an example of law enforcement officers allegedly misusing license plate camera readers for personal use -- a trend around the country.
A police officer in Kentucky was arrested last month after authorities alleged he used Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend more than 2,000 times. In Savannah, Georgia, six police department employees were fired in August over alleged abuse of Flock cameras, according to local ABC affiliate WJCL.
Lawyers for the officers were not immediately available, and Flock didn't respond to ABC News' request for comment.
