A Bellwood police officer is accused of sending confidential information from a law enforcement database to the owner of a car that was involved in a shooting and advising the owner to get rid of the vehicle and its license plates.
Michael Davis, 32, was arrested Friday and charged with felony official misconduct, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He has worked for the Bellwood Police Department since January 2025.
Prosecutors said Davis sent the information to an acquaintance who was being investigated in connection with a July 5, 2025, incident in River Forest. The acquaintance was driving a BMW that fled from a marked River Forest police vehicle during an attempted traffic stop, according to prosecutors. A River Forest officer later followed the BMW in an unmarked police vehicle, and someone fired shots at that officer’s vehicle, prosecutors allege.
During the ensuing investigation, River Forest police obtained a warrant for the BMW owner’s cell phone and learned that someone identified as “Mikey Davis” had sent the BMW’s owner photographs of information about the vehicle from a confidential law enforcement database known as LEADS, according to prosecutors.
The images allegedly contained sensitive information related to the vehicle and its involvement in the July 5, 2025, incident. The person who sent the images also shared several messages, including:
“This is what we see when we run yo plate.”
“This shows it was involved in a felony, what felony was committed, & where it happened.”
“Put that car in a garage or something & I would strongly advise to sell it so that you can get rid of those plates.”
River Forest police determined that “Mikey Davis” appeared to be Bellwood Police Officer Michael Davis and turned the matter over to Cook County Sheriff’s Police, who opened a separate investigation. The sheriff’s probe allegedly linked Davis to the phone number that transmitted the images and messages.
Metadata from the shared photographs showed they were taken at about the same time the messages were sent and that they were taken at or near the Bellwood Police Department, according to prosecutors. Davis was on duty when the images were sent, according to the allegations.
Judge D’Anthony Thedford released Davis to await trial, but ordered him to surrender all firearms and his Firearm Owner’s ID card.
“No one is above the law, and my office will continue to hold police officers to the highest ethical and professional standards,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement. “Officers who take an oath to serve the public must be held accountable when they violate that trust and abuse the tremendous responsibility that comes with it.”
