A Milwaukee police officer is expected to resign after prosecutors say he improperly accessed sensitive department data for personal reasons.
Josue Ayala, 33, is accused of using the Flock camera system while on duty to look up the license plate of someone he was dating more than 120 times and a second license plate belonging to that person’s ex 55 times, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 24.
Flock is a license plate reader system that uses cameras in fixed locations to photograph and record license information from passing vehicles. The department has used the system since 2022, and 31 cameras are installed across the city.
Ayala faces one count of attempted misconduct in public office, a misdemeanor that carries a potential maximum penalty of nine months in jail and $10,000 fine.
In a Feb. 24 news release, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said he was disappointed in the officer. The department implemented additional Flock auditing following the allegations against Ayala, the release said.
“If a member violates the code of conduct, they will be held accountable,” Norman said. “I want to remind the public that everyone is afforded the right of due process under the law, and as such, are innocent until proven guilty.”
Ayala is at least the second officer in Wisconsin to face charges for abusing the Flock system. In January, a Menasha police officer was charged with misconduct in public office after prosecutors said he used the system five times to check the location of his ex-girlfriend’s car.
The case against Ayala comes as Milwaukee police officials are supporting expanding Flock with local business owners.
Milwaukee police currently have a $182,900 contract with Flock for the use of the technology. That contract is active through January 2027.
Law enforcement’s use of surveillance technology has been criticized by privacy and civil rights advocates. Police officials have touted it as a crime-fighting tool.
“The accusations made against Milwaukee Police Officer Josue Ayala exemplify just how easily Flock cameras can be turned against the very people the technology purports to protect,” said Jon McCray Jones, a policy analyst for the ACLU of Wisconsin, in a statement released Feb. 25.
McCray Jones noted that Flock is used by at least 221 police agencies in the state and called for basic transparency standards and stronger oversight to guard against misuse.
In an earlier statement to the Journal Sentinel, the ACLU of Wisconsin had said the organization was, in general, “highly concerned about the growing number of instances in which law enforcement are misusing Flock technology.”
The ACLU statement also referenced comments Milwaukee Police Department Chief of Staff Heather Hough made in a public meeting in June 2025. At the time, Hough said the department monitored the technology and had disciplined department members for their misuse of systems such as Flock.
The Milwaukee Police Department has policies for accessing license plate data. Officers, for example, are required to use an individual log-in and provide a reason for the search. Flock “shall only be used for bona fide law enforcement purposes,” according to standard operating procedure.
A 2023 department-wide memorandum from Inspector Paul Lough also noted that any member who accessed Flock for other reasons unrelated to law enforcement may face discipline.
Ayala listed the reason for his inquiries as “investigation,” even though there was no active investigation related to either license plate, the complaint says.
Investigation began after driver used public website to see if his license plate had been searched
The investigation into Ayala began in December.
According to the complaint:
A driver had searched their license plate on the website, www.haveibeenflocked.com, which collects and publishes “audit logs” of searches of the Flock system by police agencies. The logs are obtained through open records requests.
The driver saw that Ayala had searched the plate numerous times, which prompted the driver to file a complaint with the Milwaukee Police Department.
Detectives then audited Ayala’s searches in the Flock system from March 26, 2025, through May 26, 2025.
The audit showed Ayala had looked up that driver’s plate 55 times, and it also revealed he had searched another personal license plate 124 times.
Detectives interviewed both drivers and found that they had previously dated before the second driver began a relationship with Ayala.
Ayala used the Flock system to check the drivers’ locations “for personal reasons” in violation of department policies, according to the complaint.
The complaint also notes that the case is “a negotiated issuance, a condition of which requires Josue Ayala to resign his position as a police officer from the City of Milwaukee Police Department.”
In general, defendants are expected to plead guilty as part of negotiated issuances.
Ayala joined the Milwaukee Police Department in 2017, and his total gross pay was about $120,000 in 2024, according to the most recent city salary data available.
He had most recently been assigned to Police District 2, which covers the city’s near south side.
Ayala has been on full suspension during the investigation, Norman said in an interview Feb. 19.
The chief had declined to comment on the case specifically while it was under investigation and going through the criminal process.
“I know that we’re taking every allegation very seriously and being thorough about the investigation, but at this time, let the process run out,” Norman said.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Ashley Luthern is a reporter and deputy investigations editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at ashley.luthern@jrn.com.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPD officer accused of misusing police equipment to monitor dating partner
Reporting by Ashley Luthern and David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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