Cop misused police systems for background checks on wife, her friends
Seattle police Detective Adonis Topacio abused police systems to look up the mug shot and criminal history of his current spouse before their first date, according to a recently released disciplinary report. Later, he helped one of his wife’s relatives and her husband investigate their criminal records.
The department’s policy forbids officers from using police databases, including ACCESS and WACIC, for non-law enforcement purposes. Topacio acknowledged using police databases several times for personal purposes but said he didn’t “disseminate or share [the] information with anybody.”
The SPD employee responsible for ensuring compliance with police system policies and regulations found at least eight searches referenced by the complainant. However, the report doesn’t reference any broader audit of Topacio’s usage.
This misconduct was discovered in the course of another investigation into allegations that Topacio threatened his stepson’s girlfriend.
Detective sent menacing anonymous texts to stepson's girlfriend
Detective Adonis Topacio admitted to sending threatening text messages to his stepson’s girlfriend from a second number unknown to any of his family members, according to a disciplinary report released earlier this month.
The Office of Police Accountability sustained findings against Topacio, calling it a “serious policy violation” and noting that the entire department could be penalized for his misuse of police databases. Topacio “surely knew this, having served with SPD for well over two decades and having completed multiple recent recertifications,” OPA wrote.
Det. Adonis Topacio was hired in 1998 and made $235,971 in 2023.