An 11 year veteran of the Waukegan Police Department has been charged with felony official misconduct for allegedly misuing licence plate readers and other database technology to track co-workers and others associated with them. Oscar Magpali faces five counts, which is a class 3 felony.
According to a joint statement issued by the Waukegan Police Department and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, a criminal investigation into alleged misuse of law enforcement databases, including automated license plate readers, led to the charges against Magpali.
Magpali allegedly used the technology to track vehicles registered to his co-workers and people tied to them, which is prohibited conduct and comprises a felony.
The release from the Waukegan Police Department and State’s Attorney’s Office does not cite the specific technology involved in this case. The city does however employ the use of the Flock Camera system.
The criminal investigation was conducted by the Waukegan PD after an audit identified numerous searches of vehicles registered to department employees and to people associated with those employees. Activity in the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) was also examined as a result of the findings from the audit.
“When allegations of misconduct arise, we are responsible for investigating them thoroughly and impartially, regardless of who is involved,” said Waukegan Police Chief Elias Agalianos.
The audit remains ongoing due to the volume of existing records along with searches that are being performed going forward.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said police officers have been trained for years “to never use LEADS for personal reasons” and that every agency agrees with the Illinois State Police not to abuse the system “because it holds so much private information. Any officer who violates these well-settled legal rules will face consequences,”
Officer Magpali has been placed on administrative leave.