50-year-old Mark Burgoon was indicted by a grand jury on one count of Unauthorized Use of the Law Enforcement Database System. According to Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey, Burgoon’s wife contacted his office in November of 2021 and alleged that he was harassing her. The couple was separated at the time. The sheriff’s office found many unwanted verbal and electronic communications between them. It was alleged that Burgoon used the police database to identify people that were friends of his wife. Under Ohio law, accessing the system for anything other than law enforcement use is a felony of the 5th degree. Burgoon will have his first court hearing at the end of this month.
Media Release from Mercer County Sheriff’s Office
Celina, OH – Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey today announced the indictment of Celina Police Department Officer Mark Burgoon, age 50. Police Officer’s home addresses are not released pursuant to Ohio law.
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Officer Burgoon’s wife on November 3, 2021. The two were separated at the time. Allegations were made that she was being harassed by him and the Sheriff’s Office agreed to do the investigation instead of referring her to the Celina Police Department due to the possible conflict of interest it could create since he was employed at the police department.
The investigation by Mercer County Detectives revealed that the ongoing marital issues between the two had resulted in many allegations be leveled against each other. There were many unwanted verbal and electronic communications between both parties. One of the allegations that was leveled against Officer Burgoon was that he was using a law enforcement database to identify people that were friends with his wife.
The investigation revealed that Officer Burgoon, on August 3, 2021, had improperly used the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) to identify a person who he believed was a friend of his wife. LEADS is the database law enforcement officers use to check driving records, identify owners of vehicles from license plates, run a criminal history on a person and many other law enforcement functions. Accessing the LEADS system for any reason, other than a law enforcement purpose, is a felony of the fifth degree under Ohio Law, Section 2913.04.
The Sheriff’s Office did notify the Mayor, Safety Service Director, and Police Chief of the investigation at its onset. The City of Celina and the Police Department cooperated fully with the investigation.
This information was presented to a Mercer County Grand Jury after detectives consulted with the special prosecutor who was assigned to review the case by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. The Grand Jury returned and indictment on June 16. Officer Burgoon, who has since retired from the Celina Police Department was served a summons to appear in Mercer County Common Pleas Court on June 28 at 2:30 PM.
The investigation is still continuing with misdemeanor charges being reviewed by the prosecutor’s office for other individuals. These charges, if filed, are not additional charges for Burgoon.
At this time, no other information is being released by the Sheriff’s Office.
