A Louisville Metro Police Department detective who was disciplined earlier this year for sharing his Flock camera credentials with a federal agent is again under internal investigation, this time for allegedly using the city's license plate reader system to search for a vehicle assigned to an LMPD employee, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has learned.

Detective Wesley Troutman is the focus of the new Professional Standards Unit investigation opened last week by LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey. The inquiry centers on searches conducted on or about January 9 and November 12, 2024, when Troutman allegedly searched the Flock system for a vehicle owned by an LMPD employee, according to records obtained by KyCIR.

LMPD officials declined to provide additional details about the ongoing investigation or specify which department policies they suspect Troutman may have violated. "We're looking at the reason for the searches and the timeframe," one official said.

The new investigation marks the second time Troutman has come under scrutiny. In the earlier case, KyCIR revealed that Troutman shared his Flock login credentials with a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who used them to conduct immigration-related searches without Troutman's knowledge. That investigation resulted in a two-day suspension for Troutman, a five-day suspension for Lt. Jeremy Ruoff for providing what officials termed "inappropriate guidance," and the demotion of Assistant Chief Nicholas Owen to lieutenant.

The disciplinary pattern in the police department's license plate reader system extends beyond Troutman. Former LMPD officer Robert Cedeno was indicted in April 2025 on stalking and harassment charges after using Flock cameras to track his ex-partner's vehicle. Last month, a Shively Police officer was criminally charged for similar conduct involving a different woman.

License plate readers face growing scrutiny nationwide. The Institute for Justice has documented more than 180 instances of police misusing license plate readers, from tracking activists to conducting unauthorized personal surveillance. Some cities have begun stepping away from the technology over privacy concerns.

LMPD Chief Humphrey has defended the Flock system as essential to modern policing, calling it "an amazing tool that has changed policing for us." The department has installed roughly 200 Flock cameras throughout Louisville and has another 100 awaiting installation, though police have refused to disclose their exact locations.