A Peel police officer is facing criminal breach of trust charges for allegedly misusing police computer databases.

The charges follow an 11-month investigation into the unauthorized use of police databases to perform searches on members of the public and the subsequent contacting of those members, Peel police said in a news release.

Const. Sean Duggan was arrested by the Peel Regional Police Professional Standards Bureau on Tuesday. He has been charged with three counts of breach of trust and one count for unauthorized use of a computer.

Duggan, who has been with the service for 16 years, has been suspended with pay under the Police Services Act, police said.

“We investigate these things very seriously. It doesn’t happen overnight,” Peel spokesperson Sgt. Joe Cardi told the Star.

Peel police Chief Chris McCord said he’s committed to maintaining transparency about allegations of police misconduct.

“We have a very strict policy about accessing police databases and systems,” McCord said in the release. “Our officers are bound by that policy and as soon as the complaint was received through the Professional Standards Bureau, I ordered an investigation into the conduct of the officer.”

Duggan is scheduled to appear in a Brampton court on July 8.

This isn’t the first time Duggan has faced charges relating to his professional conduct. In 2017, the veteran officer pleaded guilty at a police tribunal after admitting to starting a personal relationship with a woman about 45 days after he charged her with inappropriately lenient traffic offences following a 2014 stop.

Duggan was demoted from first-class constable to second-class constable for 16 months and ordered to complete remedial training.

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Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @temurdur

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