Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that a Cuyahoga County grand jury has returned an indictment charging former Rocky River police officer on illegally searching Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway and Law Enforcement Automated Database System over 70 times in a 10-year span.
Michael Bernhardt, 54, is facing 11 counts of unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, one count of unauthorized use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System and one count of possessing criminal tools.
Each count is a fifth-degree felony.
“Michael Bernhardt’s blatant and egregious pattern of disregarding citizens’ — including minors’ — privacy rights is outrageous, especially for a police officer,” O’Malley said in a news release. “This case raises all kinds of red flags.”
From 2013 to 2023, Bernhardt illegally searched multiple people without an official law enforcement purpose in the law enforcement databases OHLEG and LEADS while he was a law enforcement officer with the Rocky River Police Department and a school resource officer at Rocky River High School, the release said.
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 release.
The investigation was initiated by the Rocky River Police department, which requested in October 2023 that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation conduct the investigation.
BCI’s investigation uncovered several suspicious database searches, which Rocky River police confirmed served no valid law enforcement purpose, the release said.
The investigation stemmed from allegations of inappropriate relationships and contact with high school students.
Investigation into this conduct revealed Bernhardt conducted 77 unlawful searches 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 release said.
Bernhardt ceased employment with the Rocky River Police Department in April 2024.
“Upon learning of allegations of inappropriate conduct regarding Bernhardt, we promptly requested the assistance of an outside agency to conduct a thorough and independent criminal investigation, which led to this indictment,” said Rocky River police Chief George Lichman in the release. “We will continue cooperating with BCI and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
“The Rocky River Police are committed to providing professional, dependable, and trustworthy police services to our community.”
Anyone with information about Bernhardt and/or matters relevant to the investigation is encouraged to contact BCI at 855-BCI-OHIO or 855-224-6446.
Bernhardt will be arraigned at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center at a later date.
