CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former Rocky River High School resource officer who illegally searched law enforcement databases to gather information on women and students was sentenced Wednesday to six months in prison.
Michael Bernhardt, 55, admitted last month to three counts of unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway. The fifth-degree felonies each carried a maximum sentence of a year in prison. Because of his conviction, he can no longer serve as a peace officer in Ohio.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick told Bernhardt that he didn’t plan to sentence him to prison until hearing the victim impact statements, which he called the most moving he’s heard in his 31 years on the bench.
“We get jaded working in this system because we see so many bad things every day: m

cleveland.com

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