Two ex-police officers in Missouri were indicted separately this week and accused of similar crimes—pulling over women and searching their phones to find nude photos. Former Missouri State Highway Patrol officer David McKnight, 39, and former Florissant officer Julian Alcala, 29, face federal charges that accuse them of depriving the rights of several women, as well as destroying evidence, reports the AP. A rep for the FBI's St. Louis office tells CNN that the cases aren't linked, calling them "a matter of coincidence."
- Case No. 1: McKnight, 39, victimized nine women between September 2023 and Aug. 19, his indictment said, per the AP. According to the indictment, McKnight would typically pull over a woman for a traffic violation and tell her he needed to look at her phone to either verify identity or confirm insurance coverage. McKnight then searched the phones and used his own phone to photograph nude pictures he found, the indictment said. McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned five days later, according to patrol Capt. Scott White. McKnight pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Thursday.
- Case No. 2: Alcala was accused of crimes involving 20 women between Feb. 6 and May 18; five of the alleged crimes happened on the same day. Alcala confiscated phones from women under the auspices of confirming insurance coverage and vehicle registration, per his indictment. Like McKnight, he was accused of searching the phones for nude photos, then using his own phone to take pictures. The indictment said Alcala also found a video on one victim's phone and texted the video to his own phone. He's also named in four lawsuits filed against him and the suburb of Florissant. Alcala had been with the department since January 2023. He resigned in June amid an FBI investigation and pleaded not guilty on Friday.
- Speaking out: One of McKnight's alleged victims, Emily Northern, tells KFVS that when McKnight pulled her over for expired tags, he took her phone, which had an e-copy of her insurance card, back to his patrol car for nearly 15 minutes. When she got it back, she says she noticed he'd been in her photos folder for five minutes, as well as spent time in her Snapchat, texts, and settings. "It was really violating," she says.
- Reaction: "We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers," the Florissant Police Department said in a statement regarding Alcala. As for McKnight, White simply said that officers "are held to high standards, and if it is determined that those standards were not met, they are held accountable."
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