Police Officer Gets Fine, Probation for Misuse of Computer

A Santa Ana police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge that he improperly used the department’s computer to obtain criminal records of a person who was not under investigation.

Officer Jack Whipple was fined $1,080, ordered to serve 200 hours of community service and placed on three years’ probation.

Whipple’s attorney, Charles Goldwasser of Los Angeles, declined to comment on the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Randy Pawloski said Whipple “accessed a computer” on Nov. 5, 1992, and obtained criminal history information--commonly referred to as a rap sheet--of someone who was not a suspect or witness connected with the officer’s caseload.

Pawloski declined to release the name of the person whose records were accessed or to say how Whipple intended to use the information.

Santa Ana police conducted an internal investigation before turning over the case to the district attorney’s bureau of investigation.

Whipple had faced a maximum of six months in jail, but Central Municipal Court Judge Gregory Lewis accepted the officer’s guilty plea and ordered him to pay the $1,080 fine and serve probation and community service.

Whipple, who was placed on administrative leave during an internal investigation, has since returned to work.