# Ohio police lieutenant indicted for tracking person with Flock cameras

> Walter Cordes used his department's license plate readers 29 times for personal reasons, becoming the first officer charged with misusing the technology in his jurisdiction.
- Title: Ohio police lieutenant indicted for tracking person with…
- Summary: Walter Cordes used his department's license plate readers 29 times for personal reasons, becoming the first officer charged with misusing the technology in…
- Keywords: walter cordes, sharonville police department, flock cameras, license plate readers, unauthorized computer access, cincinnati, hamilton county, police misconduct, Ohio, police, lieutenant, indicted
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/10/14/ohio-police-lieutenant-flock-cameras-indicted-felony-charge
- Author: Catherina Gioino
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: walter cordes, sharonville police department, flock cameras, license plate readers, unauthorized computer access, cincinnati, hamilton county, police misconduct
## Lieutenant indicted for tracking
Walter Cordes, a forty eight year old lieutenant with the Sharonville Police Department, has been indicted on a felony charge for allegedly using Flock license plate reader cameras to track someone he knew.
## Twenty nine searches for personal reasons
Between December nineteenth, twenty twenty four, and April twentieth, twenty twenty six, Cordes searched the Flock system twenty nine times to find the person's whereabouts for personal reasons unrelated to police work.
## Self-reported during department audit
The searches came to light in June when Cordes self-reported during a department audit of the system, then admitted to them in an interview.

> Lt. Cordes came forward to share that he too had misused the system.
## Felony charge and broader pattern
A grand jury indicted Cordes on October thirteenth on one count of unauthorized use of a computer, cable or telecommunication property, a fifth degree felony carrying up to twelve months in prison under Ohio law.
## Wider pressure on Flock technology
In September, five Indianapolis police officers were charged with misusing Flock cameras, with one officer allegedly looking up his ex-wife's car location over nine hundred fifty times.
## Key takeaway

A Cincinnati-area police lieutenant has been indicted on a felony charge for using Flock license plate reader cameras to track someone he knew for personal reasons unrelated to police work.