ST. LOUIS — This week, two police officers from Missouri were separately indicted on comparable charges that involve inappropriate conduct involving female motorists. Both former officers, David McKnight, who was with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Julian Alcala, previously with the Florissant Police Department, face serious allegations of infringing on the rights of women and tampering with evidence.
The indictment against McKnight, aged 39, was issued on Tuesday and points to his misconduct involving nine women from September 2023 until August 19. The documents reveal that McKnight would typically stop women under the guise of traffic violations, insisting that he needed to examine their phones to verify identities or check insurance details. During these encounters, he allegedly searched through their phones and used his personal phone to take pictures of any nude photographs he discovered.
Following his arrest by state patrol investigators on August 21, McKnight resigned from his position five days later. Captain Scott White of the patrol noted that the organization maintains high professional standards and that those who fail to uphold these standards will face accountability. McKnight entered a not guilty plea during a court session on Thursday, and attempts to reach his attorney for comments were made the following day.
Meanwhile, Alcala, 29, is facing charges related to the exploitation of 20 women for incidents that occurred between February 6 and May 18, with five actions taking place on a single day. According to the indictment, Alcala seized phones from women while claiming he needed to verify vehicle registration and insurance. Mirroring McKnight’s alleged behavior, Alcala is accused of scouring the phones for explicit images and then capturing those images with his device. Additionally, it was noted in the indictment that he found videos on one victim’s phone, which he then sent to his own phone.
As of now, Alcala does not have an attorney listed publicly, and efforts to locate contact information for him have been unsuccessful. Furthermore, he is currently named in four lawsuits associated with both himself and the city of Florissant, a suburb of St. Louis. Alcala had joined the Florissant police force in January 2023 but resigned in June during the course of an ongoing FBI investigation.
The Florissant police department expressed their dismay over Alcala’s actions, characterizing them as a severe violation of the principles they stand for, which they believe do not represent the dedication and integrity of their officers. Their statement emphasized a commitment to addressing the severe repercussions of this breach of trust and its ramifications on the local community.