Charges: Crystal Officer Accessed Ex-Girlfriend's Private Info Under Guise Of Identity Theft Case
CRYSTAL, Minn. (WCCO) - A Crystal Police Lieutenant faces a host of charges for allegedly accessing his ex-girlfriend's personal information on a government database while claiming to investigate an identity theft case.
Derrick Hacker, 48, was charged with a total of 18 counts of misconduct, violation of government data practices laws, and unauthorized access of non-public data. He has worked with the Crystal Police Department for 23 years.
The criminal complaint says a woman called the Crystal Police Department on June 22, 2021 to complain that Hacker had unexpectedly shown up at her ex-boyfriend's home to ask for her mother. He allegedly said he was investigating an identity theft case involving her mother, who he had dated between 2014 and 2016.
The Crystal Police deputy checked Hacker's desk and found several handwritten notes about his ex-girlfriend, including phone numbers and print-outs of a drivers license and vehicle information.
An investigator with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found 60 searches involving his ex-girlfriend to the Minnesota Department of Driver and Vehicle Services website between Feb. 13, 2019 and June 22, 2021. All of the searches came from Hacker's account, the complaint says.
Law enforcement officers can be authorized to access the DVS website, but can only use the website for official police business, according to Crystal Police policy.
In an interview, the woman said she had been in a relationship with Hacker but had not spoken to him since 2016. She said she had moved several times since then and had never reported an identity theft case, or given Hacker permission to access her DVS information.
Hacker said in an interview that he had been following up on a tip-line call to Crystal Police about stolen mail and identity theft involving his ex-girlfriend. However, the investigator found no mail or identity theft cases linked to her, according to the complaint. Hacker then said he was working on a voter fraud case, but the investigator found no voter fraud cases involving the ex-girlfriend.
Hacker was placed on paid administrative leave after the office received the initial complaint, and he is still on leave, according to Crystal Police Chief Stephanie Revering.