Metro Transit: Ex-worker improperly accessed 7,000 driver's license records

A former Metro Transit employee improperly accessed more than 7,000 driver's license records to spy on his neighbors, media and sports personalities, an investigation by the agency found.

Richard P. Johnson, who worked as a supervisor at a control center that monitors bus operations, used the records to snoop on about 1,300 people, including ex-girlfriends and their spouses, fellow employees and their families, investigators said.

Johnson violated the agency's employee policies and code of ethics when he accessed the Department of Public Safety website from 2011 to 2013 to look at driver's license photos, names, address, height and weight without having a work-related reason to do so.

Johnson told Metro Transit officials he looked up the data out of boredom and "innocent" curiosity, opportunity and boredom, according to a March 19 Metro Transit document from a disciplinary hearing. Another document, from Feb. 28, notes that Johnson said he was "sincerely sorry for everything, to Metro Transit, the Met Council [and] his co-workers for what had happened."

The discovery of Johnson's activity came from a Metro Transit review of all employees with access earlier this year, Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland said.

Johnson accessed the system both from work and home and made searches from outside the IP addresses of the Met Council on 69 different days. "He said that he really doesn't know why he did it, but he didn't mean any harm by it," the March document states.

According to a February Metro Transit document, Johnson said his searches were not vindictive and they did not affect his ability to perform his job.

"Richard stated that he has been a good employee and that this was his first infraction and he would like to ask for forgiveness and grace, and mercy," the document noted. "Richard asked for leniency and punishment versus discharge and that he is worthy of a second chance to show that he can be a professional employee."

But in March, Metro Transit sent Johnson a letter of intent to terminate him, and asked him to come to a hearing to hear the evidence and present his own case as to why he should not be terminated. He appealed the decision to terminate, and during the disciplinary proceedings resigned last month, according to Siqveland.

Metro Transit Police continue to investigate and have been consulting with other law enforcement agencies for consideration of possible criminal charges, Siqveland said.

Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota, said the security breach harms everyone.

"The accumulative effect of this erodes public trust all over," Samuelson said. "So as you read about misuse of public trust, you begin to be suspicious of all public employees and public services. And that's not good for society."

An email requesting comment for this story from Johnson's union, the Transit Managers and Supervisors Association, was not returned Wednesday afternoon.

Document: More details about investigation