Ex-Peoria police officer accused of illegally accessing woman’s records

PHOENIX – A former West Valley police officer has been charged with using his position to dig up information about a woman for a friend who wanted to date her, authorities said Wednesday.

The Peoria Police Department said in a press release that Amaury Fernandez resigned Sept. 5 while allegations against him were under investigation.

The release said the investigation was submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which charged Fernandez this week with one count of unauthorized access to criminal history information, a class 6 felony.

According to court records, Fernandez allegedly accessed information about the woman at the request of a friend who worked with her. Investigators said the friend wanted to know if she had a clean record because he was interested in her romantically.

The woman reported the allegations to Peoria police on July 31 after the man revealed knowledge of private information about her, according to the probable cause statement.

The woman said the man told her he got the information from Fernandez during a ride-along.

Investigators found evidence in the police department’s records retrieval system to corroborate the allegation.

“I am deeply disappointed by the actions of this former employee, as we hold all members of our department to the highest standards,” Peoria Police Chief Art Miller said in the release.

“We conducted a thorough investigation and acted swiftly to hold the employee accountable, who resigned prior to the investigation being completed.”

Before he resigned, Fernandez was placed on administrative leave after the women reported the allegations, the release said.

Fernandez’s initial appearance in Maricopa County Superior Court was scheduled for Oct. 24.

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