Officer Gets Probation For Misusing FBI Database

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A longtime law enforcement officer has been sentenced to one year of probation and fined $10,000 on federal charges of using an FBI database to do unauthorized criminal background checks on two people.

The Advocate reports federal authorities have not elaborated on why Chad Hazelwood did the background checks, other than to state the checks were not related to law enforcement work, and court documents offer no details.

Hazelwood worked in local law enforcement for some two decades, serving with the New Iberia Police Department, Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office and, most recently, the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, which he left in July 2012.

U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Michael Hill scolded Hazelwood on Tuesday, telling the former officer that he has tarnished the badge.