Ex-police officer accused of taking unauthorized video sentenced
A former Metropolitan Police Department officer accused of taking unauthorized videos of people was ordered Tuesday to serve probation and perform community service.
Rachel Sorkow pleaded guilty in October to one count of misconduct of a public officer.
“I’m very sorry,” she said in court Tuesday.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Sorkow was ordered to spend 18 months on probation, as well as perform 100 hours of community service and undergo mental health treatment.
Her lawyer, Colleen Savage, told District Judge Mary Kay Holthus that Sorkow already had started mental health treatment and performed 60 hours of community service.
Sorkow also was required to resign from Metro, which she has done, the lawyer said.
“You cost yourself a lot by your behavior,” the judge told Sorkow.
Sorkow, who was arrested in March, was accused of sharing private information from “criminal justice informational systems” and using a personal phone to record interactions with people, a violation of department policy, police said. One of the videos, authorities alleged, included a recording of a person’s genital area filmed without consent.
Detectives began investigating Sorkow in September after a “cooperating individual” in a separate case told police he witnessed a man calling someone from law enforcement to conduct a records check on a car the man believed was a police vehicle.
While searching Sorkow’s phone, detectives found seven videos of four different people Sorkow recorded while on duty, and in at least two videos she recorded while with another officer, court records stated.
Detectives also noted “19 different instances” of Sorkow performing a criminal history inquiry on people for personal reasons.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.