4 suspended, 1 former IMPD officer charged after license plate reader audit

INDIANAPOLIS — Four suspended Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers and one former officer face charges of fraud and official misconduct following an investigation into the misuse of license plate readers, the department announced Wednesday.

On Sept. 23, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges against the five individuals. In addition to fraud and misconduct, one officer faces a stalking charge.

Internal audits in August and Sept. 2026 identified the misuse of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) technology. IMPD began administrative and criminal investigations, leading Chief Tanya Terry to place the officers on desk duty and revoke their ALPR access. One officer later resigned, though the investigation into their conduct continued.

As more facts came to light, Terry suspended the four remaining officers and recommended they be fired. The following individuals face charges:

• Michael Rogers (16-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Jonathan Schultz (18-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; fraud, official misconduct, and stalking.

Prosecutors identified 1,396 ALPR searches that were made by Schultz that appeared to have no legitimate law enforcement purpose. According to online court records, Schultz began stalking a woman when he first met her in September 2023 while attending a workout class at Center Grover High School. Schultz began to search her license plate in Flock just nine days later. The woman told police she believed that Schultz had a weird obsession with her based on comments he made after workouts.

Court documents indicate Schultz created a Facebook account with a fake name to message her. These searches were conducted while Schultz was both on duty and off duty for IMPD.

Schultz also used Flock cameras to stalk two other women: his ex-wife and a woman he met at her place of employment in Greenwood, according to the probable cause affidavit. He told the woman he was an FBI agent and that he was conducting surveillance in the parking lot.

• Cassandra Crawley (7-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Matthew Binford (4-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Abigail Cramer (5-year veteran): Resigned; charged with fraud and official misconduct.

“Today is a deeply disheartening and disappointing day for IMPD. These individuals’ actions went far beyond a clerical error or a violation of department policy. These actions crossed into criminal conduct and shook the foundation of trust that our agency is built upon,” Chief Tanya Terry said in a release.

“But I refuse to let the actions of a few define the work of this department and the hundreds of officers who show up every day with one mission: to protect our community,” she added.

The alleged misuse happened before IMPD started its new ALPR policy. In August 2026, the department issued updated rules for using the technology. Every user must now sign the policy to keep access. All searches must also include a case or incident number and a federal offense code.

IMPD also increased auditing to find misuse faster and adopted a single login system to prevent shared credentials. The department now shares ALPR data only with Indiana law enforcement agencies.

IMPD is currently turning these rules into a general order for public release. The department stated it supports laws that guide the proper use of this technology while using it to reduce violent crime.

Previous reporting: https://www.wishtv.com/news/i-team/chief-recommends-firing-impd-officer-who-misused-license-plate-readers/

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