The behavior of Michael Bernhardt, a former police officer who also served as a school resource officer at Rocky River High School, has been deemed outrageous due to a consistent and severe violation of citizens’ privacy rights, including minors.
Michael Bernhardt has been indicted on multiple charges for allegedly conducting over 70 illegal searches on the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway and Law Enforcement Automated Database System within a span of 10 years.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley announced the following felony charges against Bernhardt on Wednesday morning:
- 11 counts of unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG)
- 1 count of Unauthorized Use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System (LEADS)
- 1 count of possessing criminal tools
Prosecutor O’Malley expressed great concern over Bernhardt’s actions, stating that his behavior brings up serious concerns and questions about the extent of the breach of privacy rights.
Officials are set to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. to discuss the indictment. 3News plans to stream inside this story as well as on our YouTube channel.
The prosecutor’s office said from 2013 to 2023, Bernhardt “would illegally search multiple people without an official law enforcement purpose” in the databases while he was an officer with the Rocky River Police Department and school resource officer at Rocky River High School.
“These searches included Rocky River students and their family members, other law enforcement officers and colleagues, school teachers and school administrators, and his own family members and ex-spouses,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
In October of 2023, the Rocky River Police Department asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to conduct the investigation.
That same month, 3News reported that Bernhardt had been removed from his position at Rocky River High School amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. According to a previous report in July, the Rocky River police department said Bernhardt “may have had communication with a high school student that was inconsistent with his role as an SRO.”
“BCI’s investigation uncovered several suspicious database searches, which RRPD then confirmed served no valid law enforcement purpose,” according to the prosecutor’s office. “The investigation stemmed from allegations of inappropriate relationships and contact with high school students. Investigation into this conduct revealed Bernhardt conducted 77 unlawful searches in either OHLEG or LEADS over 10 years, and the majority of searches were of females, many of which were related to his obsessive and inappropriate relationships with students.”
The prosecutor’s office also notes that Bernhardt “ceased employment with RRPD in April 2024.”
Anybody with information relevant to the investigation is asked to call BCI at 855-224-6446.
Bernhardt will be arraigned at a later date.
