Indianapolis police officer misused automated license-plate readers for personal reasons, suspended with termination recommended

On August 13, 2026, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) announced that an officer, who has not been publicly identified, had been suspended with a recommendation for termination after using the department's automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) system for personal reasons. In a social media statement, IMPD said it learned of the officer's conduct on August 6, 2026; the officer was immediately placed on administrative duty with no police powers, had ALPR access revoked, and had department-issued equipment, including a computer, collected.

"Administrative and criminal investigations were started and are ongoing. Based on facts gathered during the early stages of the administrative investigation, Chief (Tanya) Terry has suspended that officer with a recommendation for termination," the department's statement said. IMPD said automated license-plate readers strengthen its ability to solve crimes and locate missing people, but that misuse of the technology undermines public trust in policing: "Public trust is the foundation of effective policing. When conduct falls short of our standards, we will acknowledge it, correct it, and improve. That is the standard our community expects, and that is the standard we must uphold."

The suspension is one of several instances of law-enforcement officers nationwide using automated license-plate-reader networks for personal, non-law-enforcement purposes rather than the public- safety functions they are provisioned for, including cases already documented in Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, and Massachusetts. As in those cases, the misuse here was surfaced through an internal review rather than prevented by any control built into the system itself; the officer's identity, the specific personal use, and the outcome of IMPD's investigation had not been publicly disclosed as of this reporting.