A Sharonville police lieutenant faces a felony charge after allegedly using the department's license plate reader system 29 times to track a person for personal reasons.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced Tuesday, Oct. 13, that Lt. Walter Cordes, 48, was indicted on one count of unauthorized use of a computer, cable or telecommunication property. The charge is a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to 12 months in prison.

Cordes used the Flock camera system between Dec. 19, 2024, and April 20, 2026, to obtain information about a person's whereabouts for reasons unrelated to law enforcement, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. Flock cameras photograph passing vehicles and record their license plates, locations and times, creating searchable records of where vehicles have been seen.

Investigators did not disclose why Cordes was tracking the vehicle or his relationship to the person, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The misuse surfaced in June after the Sharonville Police Department strengthened its audit policies in early 2026. Flock Safety's system flagged the searches, and Cordes, who served as an administrator of the system, admitted to making them during an interview. The department placed him on paid administrative leave, shut off his access to every department system and referred the case to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for investigation.

"I have never seen anyone charged with this before … A police officer wrongfully using police systems is a big story," Pillich told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Oct. 13.

Sharonville Police Chief Jim Nesbit said in a statement to WVXU on Oct. 13 that the department's strengthened audit protections helped catch the misuse. He said any officer who misuses law enforcement tools for personal reasons breaks the community's trust. The department is conducting an internal investigation, organizing new training for every officer and moving toward manually spot-checking Flock use, Nesbit said.

Sharonville will keep using its Flock cameras.

Cordes had not been arrested as of 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, and no court date had been scheduled, according to the Enquirer.

Second Flock violation at Sharonville PD

The indictment marks the second recent Flock-related violation at the department. In a separate case, Sharonville officer Zach Jones was disciplined in May for failing to properly document legitimate searches he made with Flock data. Jones repeatedly entered a single letter in the dialogue box that asked him to explain his searches, according to internal affairs records cited by the Enquirer. He received a letter of counseling but was not charged with a crime.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the Cordes case, officially ended its own Flock camera program on Friday, Oct. 2, after suspending it in early September. Internal audits found no misuse within that office, WCPO reported.

Pillich said in a statement that law enforcement accountability and effectiveness depend on each other. She told WVXU she wants every police department to create a policy governing surveillance tool use.

Residents with information related to the case can contact the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.