A high-ranking official with the Los Angeles Police Department has been placed on administrative leave after allegations he used an Apple AirTag to stalk another officer he was allegedly in a romantic relationship with, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
The officer who made the allegations against LAPD’s Assistant Chief Al Labrada said she found the tracking device in a waterproof Pelican box inside of her vehicle and that the device was traced back to his city-issued smartphone.
She filed a report about the tracking device with the Ontario Police Department on Sept. 7.
Labrada’s cell phone was reportedly confiscated shortly after the report was filed, with the officer also reporting the incident to internal affairs and the inspector general.
“We deny all of those allegations,” Jeremy Tissot, Labrada’s attorney, said at the time. “Those are false allegations, and we fully expect Mr. Labraba will be vindicated.”
Labrada, the highest-ranking Latino in the department, joined the LAPD in 1993 and is one of three assistant chiefs who report directly to Chief Michel Moore. When Moore travels, Labrada, at times, has acted as chief in his place.
The announcement about Labrada being placed on administrative leave came at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners, the department’s oversight body.
Chief Moore told the commission that while he is taking the allegations seriously, he was limited in what he could say about the issue.
“We will continue to cooperate with the outside agency as they continue their investigation, as well as conduct our internal investigation,” Moore said, according to the Times. “That means consequences should these allegations prove to be true.”