Fairfield cops under investigation for possible database checks on potential dates By Jess Sullivan From page A1 | August 22, 2014 | FAIRFIELD — A pair of veteran Fairfield police officers are under investigation for possible felony conduct relating to their trolling of personals dating websites while on duty and possibly using confidential law enforcement databases repeatedly to screen women they found appealing. The officers, Sgt. Stephen Ruiz and Detective Jacob Glashoff, had their desktop computers, their laptop computers, their duty cellphones and a Fairfield police iPad seized by an internal affairs investigator in June, according to court documents filed Thursday. The equipment was turned over to the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force, which was joined in the investigation of the two officers by a data analyst with the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Analysis. The investigation began in June when another detective reported to his superiors that some of his peers in the Investigations Bureau office at 1100 Texas St. were misusing the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System database. It connects to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and state and federal law enforcement records. A detective reported to his superior that Ruiz and Glashoff had been on the dating website Tinder “while at work every day for what seemed like months” and that the two men were “often having their own side conversations regarding dating sites,” according to the court documents. A search of the two men’s desktop computers revealed they both were accessing Match and that Ruiz was also browsing eHarmony and Care, court documents reflect. The detective told his superiors that he recalled seeing Ruiz at his desk browsing Care with a split-screen image simultaneously on his computer monitor that included the police database and that Ruiz told Glashoff something akin to, “she has a DUI or is suspended,” according to the court documents. The detective said the incident sticks out to him “because it was in front of everybody” and he remembers making eye contact with two other detectives at that time. The detective also reported another time when Glashoff was on his cellphone looking at a personals website, then looked up information in police database before telling Ruiz something akin to “she lives too far out of the area.” Another detective reported finding an unfamiliar cellphone at the 1100 Texas St. office in July and finding personal photos of Glashoff on the phone along with screen shots of information from the police database, according to the court documents. The detective put the phone on Glashoff’s desk, but it was later seized and analyzed during the investigation. The investigation includes the observations of detectives who remembered hearing Glashoff ask Ruiz how to delete history information from his computer, according to court documents. A detective also recalled an incident in June when Glashoff was “panicking about his computer, spoke about his status at the Fairfield Police Department and even talked about the ability to find another job.” Police Chief Walt Tibbet was not available to comment on the investigation. His office released a statement Thursday afternoon: “Information was brought to us, (which) if it were to be true, could be criminal in nature. Out of fairness and individuals’ rights and to maintain organizational integrity, an investigation was begun by another law enforcement entity for the possible criminal aspects.” Capt. Darrin Moody acknowledged the investigation was ongoing and that both Ruiz and Glashoff remain assigned to their regular duties. “Generally speaking, the department has a mechanism in place to investigate allegations of misconduct. Per the Government Code, we can’t discuss specific cases,” Moody said. A check of every California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System search done by Ruiz and Glashoff between Jan. 1 and June 25 revealed that “several” – but not all – of the female names searched were listed in legitimate Fairfield police documents such as search warrants and operation plans,” according to the court documents. An in-house search of the department’s own database found all female names searched by both men were listed as arrestees, witnesses or registered owners of vehicles. Illegal use of the police database can result in a maximum four-year prison sentence. Reach Jess Sullivan at 427-6919 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at twitter/jsullivandr.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:59:51 +0000
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