Published: 3/16/2023 4:51:10 PM
A former Concord police officer pleaded guilty to looking up information on a specific individual on two separate occasions and using it for non-law enforcement purposes.
Michael Kosa, 32, of Manchester, violated the Driver Privacy Act twice by using an individual’s name, license plate and date of birth to pull records from the Department of Motor Vehicles for personal use without permission from the Department of Safety, which are misdemeanors.
As part of a negotiated agreement with state prosecutors, Kosa was ordered to pay $1,200 per offense, resign from the Concord Police Department, surrender his New Hampshire Law Enforcement Certification and not seek further employment in law enforcement.
The Concord Police Department was first made aware of the allegations in October and reported it to the Attorney General’s Office which launched a criminal investigation, said Deputy Chief John Thomas. Kosa was placed on paid administrative leave in the days following, which quickly turned into unpaid leave.
“I think from an administrative perspective, we’re obviously not happy that one of our own individuals would partake in criminal activity, it’s the opposite of what we stand for,” Thomas said. “I can’t speak for the other people here but for me personally, it’s unfortunate that someone does something and it puts a bad light on the agency and others that wear the uniform. It’s very disappointing.”
Kosa queried the DMV database on July 13, 2022 and Sept. 19, 2022 and looked up information on the same individual each time, prosecutors said. It was unclear his relation to the individual or motive for the crime.
Kosa will be placement on a national registry of decertified officers or on the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, often called the Laurie List.
He was first hired by the Concord Police Department in August 2019 and he made just over $65,000 with the department.
The Attorney Generals Office was assisted by the Concord Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police and the incident remains under investigation by all parties.