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MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee police detective, who was previously assigned to an internal investigation of another officer's misuse of the department's Flock camera system, is now himself accused of misusing the technology.
Detective suspended, charged
In court:
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office charged 34-year-old Tehrangi Chapman with felony misconduct in public office and misdemeanor misuse of GPS information. He's scheduled to appear in court on July 17.
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What they're saying:
In a statement, MPD said Chapman has been with the department for more than 22 years. He has been on full suspension since March 13, 2026.
"No one is above the law. We expect all members of this department – both sworn officers and professional staff – to uphold the highest ethical standards. We will continue to take decisive action to preserve public trust and honor the values of this organization," Chief Jeffrey Norman said in the statement.
Milwaukee Police Administration Building
Internal investigation
The backstory:
A criminal complaint said Chapman was one of two detectives assigned to an internal investigation of Josue Ayala – a now former officer convicted of misusing the police department's Flock Safety license plate reader system – in December 2025. Chapman interviewed two victims as part of that investigation.
GPS tracking device
The backstory:
In February 2026, court filings said MPD's Internal Affairs Division received a phone call from an anonymous victim – unrelated to the Ayala investigation – who said a detective was using department resources to learn personal information about the victim's family. This victim said the detective put a GPS device on the victim's car, but would not name or file a complaint against the detective "out of concern for the ramifications of doing so."
A Milwaukee police captain suspected the detective in question was Chapman, according to the complaint. A check of an MPD report system found Chapman accessed 17 different reports involving that victim's family between 2019 and 2025.
What they're saying:
The victim later spoke to investigators with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and appeared "visibly shaken," the complaint said. The victim said they thought Chapman was spying on them and confronted Chapman about a tracking device in 2018 or 2019.
In 2024, the victim said they then found a GPS tracking device attached to their car. The victim gave that device to the district attorney's investigators. A subpoena for the device's records showed Chapman bought it, and the device's user had deleted its GPS location history.
Chapman's admission
Dig deeper:
As a result of the investigation into Ayala, MPD conducted an internal audit of the department's use of the Flock system. Court filings said the investigation uncovered that Chapman used the system's license plate search to find the victim's car 17 times from January 2024 through January 2025. He also searched for another victim's car three times. He listed the reasons as "test" and "training."
What they're saying:
In May 2026, the district attorney's investigators interviewed Chapman. The complaint said he admitted to using the Flock system to track the whereabouts of the two victims "in violation of the policies of the Milwaukee Police Department." He also admitted he put a GPS tracking device on the victim's car.
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MPD's Flock system policy at the time of the alleged misuse said it was "only be used for bona fide law enforcement purposes."
Chapman was "emotional and embarrassed," the complaint said, about his actions and the impact they'd have on the police department.
Privacy concerns
Big picture view:
Many privacy advocates warned about the misuse of Flock Safety systems when FOX6 Investigators first reported on them in 2023. At the time, the assistant Milwaukee police chief said, "We're not using it to spy on people."
The concern has always been that it's such a powerful database that it is tempting for officers to do exactly that without tight controls and oversight.
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Concerns about Flock system misuse
A Milwaukee police detective is accused of misusing the department's Flock camera system. FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn explains the history of privacy concerns and what advocates say needs to be done to prevent misuse.
What's next:
In the Chapman case, police said they caught the behavior because they were watching closely. They caught it after the fact – but how do police prevent this from happening?
Privacy advocates said police need to conduct frequent audits, limit system access to only those who need it and have policies that require every search to be justified with a specific case number and description of why it's necessary.
In most abuse cases, police found an officer used "investigation," "training" or something generic as the reason for a search. That opens the system up to misuse and abuse.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.