Sharonville police lieutenant indicted over alleged personal use of Flock cameras
Prosecutors allege Lt. Walter Cordes used police cameras 29 times to track someone for personal reasons. An audit flagged the searches, and the department is reviewing its safeguards.
Sharonville Police Lt. Walter Cordes was indicted in Ohio on October 13 after prosecutors alleged he used the department’s Flock camera system 29 times to track someone for personal reasons. The fifth-degree felony charge followed an audit that flagged the searches, according to Fortune and WCPO. The case puts the department’s controls on access to license plate reader data under scrutiny.
What prosecutors allege about the Flock searches
Prosecutors say Cordes searched the system between December 19, 2024, and April 20, 2026, to obtain information about a person’s whereabouts for reasons unrelated to law enforcement. Fortune reported that prosecutors have not identified the person or explained why Cordes allegedly tracked them. The charge of unauthorized use of computer, cable or telecommunication property remains pending.
WCPO reported that Cordes later admitted making the searches in an interview, according to prosecutors. Prosecutor Connie Pillich told WCPO that Ohio law limits officers’ access to such systems to official duties and bars personal use. The charged offense carries a maximum prison sentence of 12 months; an indictment does not establish guilt.
Pillich said Cordes is the first law enforcement official her office has charged with misusing the technology since she took office, according to both reports. That distinction concerns charges brought by her office during her tenure, rather than the number of officers who may have used the system improperly.
How Sharonville found the searches
The activity came to light during a department audit earlier in 2026. Police Chief Jim Nesbit told WCPO that a Flock feature designed to flag potentially suspicious searches prompted further review. Fortune reported that Cordes self-reported during the audit. Both outlets say the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office investigated after the activity was identified.
Nesbit told WCPO that Cordes is on unpaid administrative leave while Sharonville conducts an internal investigation. He said the department is considering additional safeguards and monitoring, including more training and administrative oversight. Those steps concern how officers’ use of the system is checked after the searches were flagged.
Sharonville’s license plate reader system
Sharonville adopted automated license plate readers in 2023 and uses them to generate leads in shootings, hit-and-runs and other crimes, WCPO reported. Fortune said the city leases 24 Flock cameras. The alleged personal searches involved a system the department uses for criminal investigations, making access controls central to its response.
Fortune reported, citing WVXU, that several Greater Cincinnati jurisdictions have halted or canceled Flock contracts over misuse concerns. It identified the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated Cordes’s alleged searches, among those jurisdictions.
Sources and context
- An Ohio police lieutenant allegedly used Flock cameras 29 times to track someone he knew. Now he’s facing a felonyFortune
- 'He betrayed our trust': Sharonville PD lieutenant indicted for misuse of FLOCK camerasWCPO
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