Sierra Vista police officer resigns after being accused of unauthorized database use

A Sierra Vista police officer resigned on Tuesday after he was accused of accessing information in department and state databases for personal reasons, officials announced on Wednesday.

Officer Raymond Pyle, who was hired by the department in January 2021, accessed the database in August 2021 during an investigation, according to a press release from Sierra Vista police. After the department learned about it on March 9, they asked the Cochise County Sheriff's Office to investigate.

Detectives from the Sheriff's Office found evidence showing Pyle conducted an unauthorized search in the database, according to police.

Details on the personal search he did were not released. The SVPD placed Pyle on paid administrative leave and opened an administrative investigation assigned to the department's Special Operations Bureau on April 20.

Pyle was indicted with two charges of computer tampering on June 2 after the Cochise County Attorney's Office presented the case to a Grand Jury.

He was notified on Tuesday that SVPD was starting the process of termination of his employment and he resigned effective immediately, according to police.

The case will be sent to the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board for review.

"Officer Pyle’s violation of the public’s trust by using departmental resources to acquire information for personal use cannot be tolerated,” SVPD Police Chief Adam Thrasher said in a statement.

Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sierra Vista police officer accused of computer tampering resigns