What happened, according to court records and other documents:
Kelly Chrisman once was a Los Angeles police officer with a penchant for looking up celebrities in the department's confidential databases. Then he got fired. Now he may get rehired with back pay.

The story begins when Chrisman started dating a woman named Cynthia Truhan-Garvey, the ex-wife of former Los Angeles Dodgers star Steve Garvey and a former co-star with Regis Philbin on a New York morning show. When the relationship ended, she told the LAPD that her ex-boyfriend had beaten her. Chrisman was arrested, turned over to the sheriff, and then released. (The sheriff's department eventually concluded her supposed injuries were self-inflicted. Moreover, Truhan-Garvey had already been convicted for falsely claiming to be the victim of domestic violence.)

Truhan-Garvey also accused Chrisman of misusing department computers by looking up confidential information on celebrities. News reports from 2003 say his celebrity targets included Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Aniston, Meg Ryan, Larry King, Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson and Sean Penn.

Truhan-Garvey also said Chrisman harassed her by finding her new phone number and address after they broke up. In 2003, USA Today reported that the city of Los Angeles paid $387,500 to settle her lawsuit, which said Chrisman made a hefty side income by selling information to supermarket tabloids. (He claimed he was asked to compile a map of celebrities' homes.)

In August 2003, the LAPD filed administrative charges against Chrisman for misuse of department computers over a stretch of time that lasted from 1993 to 2000. The information available to him included criminal histories, driving records, Social Security numbers, restraining orders and unlisted phone numbers.

Like other LAPD officers, Crisman had signed a statement (in his case, in October 1990) that said: "I agree to abide by and hereby acknowledge that I have received a copy of this operator security statement and have been informed of the following: ...Any person who intentionally and without authorization accesses any Department computer system, except in the scope of his or her employment, shall be guilty of a public offense...Any violation of Department policy or state law may result in disciplinary action which may result in dismissal and/or criminal prosecution as provided by law."

That seems straightforward enough: Any cop who misuses confidential police databases for any reason, including pleasure or profit, loses his job forever.

But it didn't turn out that way. Chrisman sued in January 2004, claiming the department had violated his rights, the prohibition against computer misuse was overly vague, and the statute of limitations prevented any surreptitious database searches from being used as evidence against him in disciplinary proceedings.

In legal filings, he's asked for an order "restoring appellant to his employment as a police officer with back pay and restoration of all benefits."

Under the Los Angeles city charter, the limitations period for noncriminal misconduct is "two years from the occurrence" and three years for criminal conduct. Because any unapproved computer searching was noncriminal, Chrisman argued, the two-year rule should apply.

The trial court disagreed with him, but a state appeals court parsed the language of the statute especially closely. It ruled that while Chrisman may have "had no legitimate purpose for that information," it was not technically hacking because he did have authority to access those databases.

The bottom line? Even though the appeals court said "it is undisputed that appellant was on duty when he misused department computers," Chrisman seems on track to get his old job back. The case was remanded to the LAPD with orders to reconsider his punishment.

Optional Link

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true."

James Branch Cabell