CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer is on unpaid leave and charged with illegally accessing a government computer after investigators said he looked up information on an undercover officer’s vehicle and shared it with a suspected drug dealer under investigation in Watauga County.
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Officer Seth Elliott ran the plates through systems only law enforcement officers have access to and relayed back that information to a person who was under investigation for drugs, the SBI said.
The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office had its eye on a drug target, according to court documents. Channel 9 learned that the suspected drug dealer was suspicious of a buyer, so the dealer contacted Elliott for help.
On June 16, a drug target contacted Elliott and asked if he could look up the license plate information of a vehicle, the affidavit said. The drug target was under investigation by the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, and the vehicle belonged to an undercover officer.
Elliott looked up the information in Flock and the state’s CJLEADS program and provided the information back to the target, the affidavit said.
It’s unclear how the SBI knew about the alleged improper access.
CJLEADS is the state’s background check database.
Flock is a license plate reader, and Charlotte doesn’t use the cameras. However, CMPD has an agreement that allows them to access Flock devices from other agencies at no charge.
Watauga County has at least four cameras, records show. Flock cameras are equipped with Audit Assistance. The company’s CEO, Garrett Langley, has previously described it as technology that monitors when searches seem unusual.
“It’s very similar to how your bank account,” Langley said. “When you log in from a new city when you’re traveling, says, ‘Hey, I want to double-check who you are.’ It’s not saying that you’ve done something wrong. It’s just saying this is abnormal.”
Resident Joshua Murphy said he’s OK with license plate readers for law enforcement purposes.
“There are so many kidnappings,” Murphy said. “I think they are good for those reasons.”
However, he said it’s disturbing to hear an officer would use it to tip off a suspect.
“I think they overstepped their boundaries,” Murphy said.
Elliott was charged with a misdemeanor of illegal access of a government computer. The SBI said he remains under active investigation. The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said it couldn’t comment.
Elliott is on unpaid leave.