Old Saybrook police officer not first in CT accused of using database to seek dates with women, records show
OLD SAYBROOK — A local police officer who investigators say told a dispatcher he was “gaming” for a date when he requested a woman's license plate information is not the first Connecticut cop accused of abusing a law enforcement database to seek out women, records show.
Old Saybrook Police Officer Joshua Zarbo has been suspended after he was charged Wednesday with third-degree computer crime. The 30-year-old Clinton resident is accused of asking an emergency dispatcher to check a woman's license plate to obtain her name and personal information in hopes of securing a date, according to a warrant for his arrest.
It's not the first tim ea police officer in the state used the system to identify potential dates, according documents obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media Group through a Freedom of Information Act request made earlier this year.
Former Norwalk Police
Officer Taranjit Singh resigned in 2021 before he could be punished after his department tracked down four women who he either pulled over and threatened to give them a ticket unless they gave him their cellphone number or obtained their names and addresses through the same database system Zarbo allegedly used, documents said.
One of the women who was twice stopped by Singh told investigators she became so fearful of running into him again that she moved out of Norwalk, the police department's internal investigation report stated.
His activities were exposed when Norwalk police command staff saw an Instagram post claiming a city officer was using his position to pull over and harass women who he felt were attractive, the documents said.
Singh did not face any criminal charges, but was decertified in 2022 by the Police Officer Standards and Training Counsel at the request of his department.
The Connecticut On-Line
Enforcement Teleprocessing system, known as COLLECT, allows authorities to access vehicle registration information, including the identity and date of birth of a vehicle's owner. Users are prohibited by law from “misuse or unauthorized dissemination” of COLLECT data, according to the warrant for Zarbo's arrest.
According to the warrant, Zarbo sent a text message to a dispatcher while working a Black Friday holiday event shift on Nov. 25 at an Old Saybrook Walmart, requesting a woman's license plate be checked to get her name and personal information.
The dispatcher responded by telling Zarbo he would need to request the information over the radio, the warrant stated.
“Bro, I am gaming right now,” Zarbo responded to the dispatcher, according to the warrant.
Investigators construed Zarbo's response to mean he was seeking to contact the woman for a date, which would be an improper use of the system, the warrant said.
The dispatcher and Zarbo exchanged quips and crying with laughter smiley face emojis by text before the officer announced over the radio he needed the woman's license plate to be checked, the warrant said.
The radio communication, however, unraveled the date-seeking plot when the fire chief 's wife heard the request and recognized the woman's name, according to the warrant.
The targeted woman was surprised when she was notified police had checked her license plate information, the warrant stated. The woman told investigators she was at Walmart buying a TV and saw two police officers there, but she and her sister had little interaction with them, the warrant said.
As she was leaving, her sister waved at an officer who appeared to be staring at them, because “it was the polite thing to do,” the woman told investigators, according to the warrant.
The woman sent the fire chief a photo of an Instagram account believed to belong to Zarbo, who began following her on the social media platform after her license plate was checked, the warrant stated.
In an interview with investigators, Zarbo said the women were behaving “suspiciously,” which is why he wanted to check the license plate, the warrant stated. Zarbo also said he thought it wouldn't be a problem to look up the woman on social media since he had completed his “police function,” according to the warrant.
Zarbo appeared to be blocking his body camera as the women drove toward him in the parking lot, investigating officers pointed out during an interview with him, the warrant stated.
“The Old Saybrook Police Department takes our responsibility to ensure that department employees are adhering to workplace expectations and the law very seriously,” Police Chief Michael Spera said in a statement about Zarbo's arrest.
Zarbo was placed on administrative leave as the criminal investigation into his use of the computer system is conducted. Zarbo,
who has been with the department for five years, was released on $5,000 bond. His first appearance in state Superior Court in Middletown has not yet been listed on the judicial website.
It was not immediately known if the dispatcher is also being investigated.