A police officer in west suburban Bellwood was charged with official misconduct after prosecutors said an investigation revealed he shared confidential information from a law enforcement database with an acquaintance related to a criminal case in neighboring River Forest.
More Top Picks Dewalt 20v Max 7 1 4 Inch Single Bevel Sliding Compound Dcs361b
Michael Davis, 32, of Garfield Park, faces a single charge of official misconduct/obstruction of a criminal investigation, a Class 3 felony, according to court records. On Saturday, Judge D’Anthony Thedford allowed for Davis’ pretrial release, but ordered him to surrender his firearm owner’s identification card and firearms to law enforcement within 48 hours.
It was unclear whether Davis had an attorney and Bellwood police didn’t return a call for comment.
The charge follows a July 5, 2025 incident that began with a River Forest police officer attempting to pull over a BMW that led to a high-speed chase, prosecutors said in a court proffer.
During that pursuit, another officer in an unmarked vehicle began following the fleeing BMW when at least one gunshot was fired at that officer’s vehicle, according to prosecutors.
River Forest police spearheaded an investigation and issued a search warrant on the unnamed BMW owner’s cell phone, authorities said. During a forensic examination of the phone, police found that a person named “Mikey Davis” sent the vehicle’s owner several photographs showing details from the police Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, or LEADS, a statewide law enforcement database.
The photos appeared to provide information on the status of the River Forest case, including that it was being investigated as a felony. A text from Mikey Davis also appears to advise the BMW owner to “put that car in a garage or something & I would strongly advise to sell it so that you can get rid of those plates,” according to prosecutors. River Forest police later determined that Mikey Davis was a Bellwood officer and notified Cook County sheriff’s police, who launched their own investigation.
By law, information from LEADS cannot be “disseminated to any individual or organization that is not legally authorized to have access to the information,” the proffer stated.
Sheriff’s police found that the phone number that sent the vehicle owner the photos was Davis’ personal phone number and that he was working when the photos were sent to the vehicle owner, prosecutors said.
Davis agreed to an interview with sheriff’s police investigators and admitted to sending texts and photographs to the BMW owner’s phone, prosecutors said.
“No one is above the law, and my office will continue to hold police officers to the highest ethical and professional standards,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement released Saturday following Davis’ hearing.
“Officers who take an oath to serve the public must be held accountable when they violate that trust and abuse the tremendous responsibility that comes with it. The prosecutors in our Law Enforcement Review Unit are committed to protecting the public’s trust in law enforcement.”
Davis was hired in Bellwood in January 2025, received his initial police certification three months later and remains an active officer, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
In addition to turning in his FOID card and weapons, Davis was ordered not to have any contact with witnesses in the case. He is scheduled to appear in the Maywood courthouse on Tuesday.