A San Jose police officer used the department's Flock license plate database to track a woman who had accused his cousin of domestic violence, then shared the information with that cousin.
The officer was fired in April after a roughly yearlong investigation, but he will not face criminal charges.
Chief Paul Joseph disclosed the case on September 11, telling The Mercury News that the officer had served with the department for about two years.
Joseph declined to identify him, citing personnel protections and the absence of prosecution.
There is also no word on whether the individual ultimately lost their Peace Officer Certification.
The investigation began in February 2025 after the woman told police that the man she accused of abuse had indicated he knew where she was.
Knowing his cousin was an officer, she reported her suspicions.
Investigators checked the Flock records and found the unauthorized access.
According to Joseph, the officer used his personal phone to retrieve vehicle information and passed it to his cousin.
The access still left an audit trail, which helped investigators establish what happened.
"What we have here is a betrayal of the public's trust. Plain and simple," Joseph said.
Flock Safety has changed its audit log to make it far harder for the public to track down cases of misuse and abuse just like this one.
