Christopher Sorey worked as a police officer for the Smyrna-Rutherford County Airport in Tennessee from August 2005 to November 2008. And according to a federal complaint, during that time he allegedly accessed the Integrative Criminal Justice Web Portal to obtain personal information on nine people, including their photographs, Social Security numbers, and addresses. In one case, Sorey allegedly used the information to try to get a man fired. In another case, he is accused of setting up a fake email account in a woman’s name, although his motivation is not known.
The nine people are suing Sorey and also the airport for failing to supervise employee access to the portal. The suit (pdf) includes a demand for punitive damages for violations of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, invasion of privacy and other charges.