Flock search misuse: Former Milwaukee police officer gets probation

MILWAUKEE - A former Milwaukee police officer, who prosecutors said misused the department's Flock Safety license plate reader system to track an ex, was sentenced to probation and fined on Wednesday.

Former officer guilty

In court:

Josue Ayala, 34, pleaded guilty and was convicted of misdemeanor attempted misconduct in public office in June. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Ayala to one year of probation and fined him $500.

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The judge initially sentenced Ayala to time in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center, but stayed that sentence in favor of probation and the fine.

"I wanted to begin by taking accountability for the poor judgment that I exercised, and my actions that brought me before the court," Ayala said.

Ayala faced a maximum of up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine. Previously, the district attorney's office said the misdemeanor charge was part of a negotiation that included Ayala agreeing to resign from the Milwaukee Police Department. His resignation was announced on March 4, the same date as his initial court appearance.

"This case represents an abuse of power and a misuse of power. It results in a lack of trust from our community. That's the story that is going to end and be printed today is about police misuse of the Flock system," said Matthew Torbenson, assistant district attorney.

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"He's taken responsibility at this time. Not to mention, there's the media exposure," said Judge Kristela Cervera. "That has exposed this, thankfully, so that the community is aware of what's occurred here."

In March, a judge ordered Ayala not to have contact with the two victims in the case. In June, a court commissioner granted two restraining orders against the former officer.

Misconduct investigation

The backstory:

A criminal complaint said Ayala, who was an eight-year department veteran based at Milwaukee Police District 2, used his authorized access to search MPD's license plate database 179 times for personal reasons.

Ayala searched the license plate of an ex more than 50 times, court filings said, and searched that person's ex-partner more than 100 times.

MPD policy required officers to document the reason for each search, and prosecutors said Ayala used a single-word justification each time: "investigation."

The alleged misuse was not initially uncovered internally. Charging documents said one of the victims searched their own license plate on a website called haveibeenflocked.com and then alerted police, prompting a follow-up investigation that identified nearly 200 unauthorized searches.

Josue Ayala is not related to Alex Ayala, the president of the Milwaukee Police Association. 

MPD Flock policy

Dig deeper:

MPD said it strengthened the audit process to catch future problems and made every user re-request access and sign that they will follow the rules.

"As much as we have audits, we always can do better as we recalibrate our audit," MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman said Monday.

"If you're a homicide investigator, absolutely. Sensitive crime detective, absolutely, you want to find that missing child, that missing person, but just somebody who's on a routine or has an administrative type of position? Now you have to explain to me why. And so we have a vetting process for that."

Flock cameras can be found across the country and state. Milwaukee has more than 30 of the cameras in its system. Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission will audit Flock usage, meaning a random sample of searches.