Cops Charged With Stealing Nudes From Women's Phones During Traffic Stops!

ACAC? (All cops are creeps?)

Two Missouri police officers have been indicted on charges of stealing nudes from women’s phones during routine traffic stops. According to the FBI per CNN, a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer and a cop from the Florissant Police Department have both been abusing their power. When asking for proof of insurance or to verify the ID of women they’d pulled over, they would allegedly demand the drivers’ phones. They would then sneakily begin swiping through their pics and looking for sexually explicit images and videos. From there, they’re accused of using their personal phones to take photos of the women’s intimate media and in some cases even uploading it to their own iCloud.

Sick. Just sick.

Last week, 39-year-old state trooper David McKnight was indicted in federal court over the charges. Just one day later, 29-year-old FPD officer Julian Alcala was indicted in St. Louis for the same thing. The most horrifying part? The FBI says these were completely isolated cases and the two men didn’t know each other. Seems like there could be a trend of this going on… A horrifying thought! Be careful who you give your phone to, ladies!

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An attorney representing one of Alcala’s alleged victims said once she found out what happened, she reported the officer to the FBI. According to the outlet, one of McKnight’s accusers reported him to his supervisor before the FBI got involved. Alcala is being accused of taking explicit photos from TWENTY women in a three month period from February to May 2024. McKnight allegedly searched nine phones and took nudes from at least seven of them in an 13-month period from August 2023 to September 2024.

Per the outlet, six of Alcala’s alleged victims banded together to file three lawsuits against him. One of the suits in particular tells a nasty story about the officer allegedly sending himself a woman’s sex tape. The suit accuses him of texting the video to himself — which didn’t go unnoticed! The woman noticed a deleted message in her phone. The act of deleting the message may seem small, but according to attorney J.C. Pleban it’s what got the officer in the most hot water:

“Once he deletes the text message, he gets an obstruction charge, which is the most serious out of these. Nobody ever thinks that something like this, something this outrageous, is going to happen when we put law enforcement into the streets. They’re supposed to protect and serve.”

Another suit was filed in late October on behalf of four anonymous plaintiffs, in which his actions were described as “a shocking degradation, an egregious humiliation and a flagrant breach of confidentiality”. A third lawsuit was filed mid-November.

As for Alcala’s job, a Facebook post made by the FPD said he “immediately resigned” and the “department fully cooperated with the investigation”:

“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. We recognize the gravity of this breach of trust and its impact on our community. Rebuilding that trust is our top priority, and we are committed to transparency, accountability, and regaining the confidence of those we serve.”

As for McKnight, seven of the counts against him claim that he took pictures from the alleged victims’ phones, which were all found on his phone during the investigation, per court docs. In two of the cases, he’s accused of taking the women’s phones after arresting them, while the other five were allegedly taken during a traffic stop when asking for proof of insurance or ID. He also received a charge of obstruction as he’s claimed to have “deleted or attempted to delete those images from his cell phone”.

He was also quick to resign from his position, as he did so right after he got arrested back in August for felony invasion of privacy in two counties, per KVFS. One of his alleged victims came forward by name. Emily Northern told the outlet she was the one who reported him to his supervisor. She claims McKnight asked to see her proof of insurance on her phone, and “he asked if he could take it with him to his car”:

“I was uncomfortable with it, but I didn’t want to argue with him.”

The woman claims he was gone for around fifteen minutes, and when he got back she checked her Screen Time. Her suspicions were well-founded — she was horrified at what he might have been doing:

“He was on my photos for 5 minutes. He was in my Snapchat for also like 5 minutes and my settings and my text messages. I was a mess. I was crying. It was such an awful feeling knowing he was going through my phone like I’ve got private personal photos of me. I have children on there.”

Heartbreaking. And SO infuriating.

Both Alcala and McKnight have been charged with one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and multiple counts of deprivation of the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, according to CNN. They both have also pleaded not guilty. Local outlet KFVS reported McKnight’s bond has been set at $10,000, while KMOV reported Alcala has bailed out.

Such a grim reminder to trust your instincts if something doesn’t feel right, ladies — even with authority figures!

[Image via Columbia Pictures/YouTube]