LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan has been appointed as a special prosecutor to determine if an ex-Chesterton police officer will face criminal charges regarding his access of data from Flock Safety License Plate Readers.
Porter Superior Court Judge Rebecca Buitendorp made the appointment Friday at the request of Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann. The order states that the reason Germann requested the appointment is “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”
It is the second time this week that Germann has brought in an outside prosecutor to handle a case involving a police officer’s usage of data from Flock Safety License Plate Readers.
“There has been some concern expressed because our office works closely with all of our law enforcement officers, we may not be able to evaluate a case fairly and impartially if it involves a police officer in our county. Therefore, to avoid any appearance of bias I have asked an independent special prosecutor to be appointed,” Germann previously told The Post-Tribune.
Christopher Schoof resigned from the Chesterton Police Department on Aug. 27 after he was confronted by evidence from an internal investigation into his use of Flock Safety license plate reader data.
Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson launched the investigation on Aug. 25 after an out-of-state newspaper contacted him about how a website highlighted Schoof’s access to data. The inquiries were made in 2024 and 2025, when Schoof worked as a detective.
The nationwide network of Flock Safety cameras used by law enforcement has come under increased scrutiny recently because of concerns about the invasion of privacy.
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Richardson has said his administrative staff continued its investigation after Schoof’s resignation and then consulted with Germann about the next step.
Germann advised Richardson to bring in an outside agency to investigate Schoof. The Indiana State Police on Wednesday agreed to take the case.
When asked if the case involved Schoof making an excessive number of inquiries regarding a few license plate numbers, Richardson acknowledged that this information will be part of the Indiana State Police inquiry.
After the Indiana State Police completes its investigation, Fagan will then decide if criminal charges are filed. Fagan was defeated in the May Republican primary in his bid to gain a second term.
On Thursday, Judge Buitendorp appointed Jasper County Prosecutor Jacob Taulman to examine the case of a Porter County sheriff’s deputy who misused the Flock camera system.
Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon on Aug. 28 had announced that his internal investigation found that the deputy had misused the Flock camera data on three occasions over the period of several months. As a result, Balon disciplined the deputy by demoting him a rank, along with an indefinite suspension without pay. The deputy also was banned from using Flock and ordered to receive remedial ethics training.
Germann initially agreed with Balon’s judgment, stating he believed no crime occurred.
After receiving public criticism, Germann acknowledged that he made a mistake and that there was a need to “put the public at ease that my decision not to prosecute is in no way related to any relationship that my office has with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.”
“While we can all agree that law enforcement’s actions in this case were improper, I now believe the issue of whether those improper actions rise to the level of criminal conduct be evaluated by another prosecutor,” Germann told the Post-Tribune on Wednesday.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.