Missouri Cops Accused of Pulling Over Women and Searching Their Phones for Nudes

In 2 abstracted ineligible cases, erstwhile constabulary officers successful Missouri person been charged with pulling women implicit and past searching their compartment phones for nude pictures.

On Tuesday, 39-year-old erstwhile Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper David McKnight was indicted by a expansive jury successful U.S. District Court, a property merchandise states. McKnight, who resigned from the unit successful August, is accused of taking compartment phones from 9 antithetic women and, upon uncovering nude oregon sexually explicit pictures, taking pictures of them with his ain phone. McKnight allegedly told the women that helium needed their phones to corroborate they had security oregon to verify their identity. Eventually, helium deleted those pictures from his phone, the property merchandise claims, citing the indictment. The offenses are alleged to person taken spot betwixt September 1, 2023 and Aug. 19, 2024.

The Associated Press reports that McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators connected Aug. 21 and resigned respective days later. He is present charged with 1 number of destroying records successful a national probe and 9 counts of deprivation of rights related to an unreasonable hunt and seizure.

On Thursday, different erstwhile constabulary officer, 29-year-old Julian Alcala, who antecedently worked for the Missouri metropolis of Florissant, was accused of doing precise overmuch the aforesaid thing. Another national press release accuses Alcala of searching the phones of 20 antithetic women. Like McKnight, authorities assertion Alcala would instrumentality pictures of nude photographs helium recovered connected the women’s phones.

The Seattle Times reports that Alcala had not been with the constabulary department long, joining successful January 2023. The alleged offenses took spot betwixt Feb. 6, 2024, and May 18, 2024, the DOJ’s property merchandise states. Alcala faces akin charges to McKnight.

In a connection posted to its Facebook page, the Florissant Police Department said, of the allegations against Alcala: “We are disgusted astatine this behavior, which is simply a implicit betrayal of the values we uphold and successful nary mode reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers. We admit the gravity of this breach of spot and its interaction connected our community.”

The connection added: “Alcala was hired arsenic a full-time Police Officer with the City of Florissant aft a meticulous and thorough inheritance investigation, which revealed nary areas of concern. During his eleven months of employment, helium received nary complaints oregon accusations of misconduct.”

Prosecutors are asking different radical who deliberation they whitethorn person been impacted by akin crimes to travel forward.

Gizmodo reached retired to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for comment.