Minneapolis police chief fired officer who left his post to seek sex act during overnight shift

A Minneapolis police officer suspended last fall amid allegations that he abandoned duties on his overnight shift to seek oral sex with a civilian he met on a dating app was fired in February, according to newly published disciplinary records.

An Internal Affairs investigation found that Officer Juan Alonzo Jr., a six-year veteran of the force, drove his marked squad car outside the bounds of his assigned south Minneapolis precinct on at least two occasions in 2022 to “engage in sexual activity” while on the clock. He also misused law enforcement databases to obtain private information on an individual he’d met on the dating app Grindr.

Chief Brian O’Hara concluded that Alonzo violated four department policies: the code of ethics, on-duty code of conduct, confidential records procedure and vehicle responsibility.

In his Feb. 22 termination letter, O’Hara wrote that Alonzo’s actions tarnished the badge, undermined public trust and left citizens without necessary police coverage.

“Officer Alonzo failed to meet our standards when he used his police privileges to impermissibly access a community member’s confidential and private data for personal use, potentially exposing the City and the Department to significant legal liability,” O’Hara added.

Alonzo, 29, could not be reached for comment. The Minneapolis police union did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

Text messages submitted to MPD’s Internal Affairs unit — and obtained by the Star Tribune last fall — reveal a conversation between Alonzo and an unidentified woman during an August 2022 overnight shift. Alonzo shares an apparent photo of his penis and inquires whether the civilian would be interested in providing oral sex to “a cop in uniform.”

The woman agrees and sends Alonzo her location before requesting a photo of his face. The officer — wearing what appears to be his uniform — then takes a selfie from his squad car. The car’s grated partition is clearly visible behind him.

When the woman responds with a suggestive photo of her own, Alonzo writes, “Okay, give me a sec, let’s see if I can leave this call.” Ten minutes later, Alonzo writes that he has arrived at her apartment and is provided instructions to be buzzed upstairs.

Time stamps indicate that the messages were exchanged over a 2½-hour period during his shift. The overnight shift, known as “dogwatch,” typically runs until about 6:30 a.m.

The civilian later told investigators that she communicated with Alonzo via Grindr and confirmed that he had arrived at her home, in full uniform, multiple times in August 2022. Automatic location-tracking data inside his city-issued squad car showed that the vehicle was parked near her residence on two dates — outside the Fifth Precinct area, to which he was assigned. There were no known calls for service there.

Under questioning from Internal Affairs, Alonzo admitted that he met with a woman in her home and “had oral sex performed on him” while on duty. He acknowledged how that behavior might be concerning to the public.

“I could see where people would believe that I’m intentionally leaving an emergency call,” Alonzo said, according to disciplinary records. “It also devalues, like, the trust of police and community.”

An audit of Alonzo’s search history within the city’s Police Information Management System (PIMS) revealed that he had used the database to obtain private data on the woman unrelated to his official work duties. He contacted a phone number obtained through an address search, believing it to be the woman from the dating app; it turned out to be her roommate’s.

Alonzo was escorted off city property after reporting for work on Oct. 7 — and remained on paid leave for more than four months, when he was formally discharged. Due to the lengthy grievance process, that disposition is just now being made public on the city’s police discipline dashboard.

The Star Tribune filed a data request for Alonzo’s full personnel file but did not receive it in time for publication.

Alonzo earned a previous written reprimand in 2022 for violations of the department’s pursuit policy.

In that case, then-Interim Chief Amelia Huffman found that he and his partner erred in chasing a motorist driving in a “flagrantly reckless manner,” who nearly caused multiple car wrecks. The pursuit continued until the fleeing driver crashed and the occupants fled on foot.

At one point, records show, Alonzo aired over dispatch that they were not chasing the vehicle, but failed to update 911 operators with relevant details – speed, location and direction of travel – as the situation progressed.

“The preponderance of the evidence shows that Officer Alonzo, though the passenger, continued this pursuit while the driving conduct of the fleeing vehicle posed a danger to the public,” Huffman wrote in her letter of reprimand. “Officer Alonzo did not articulate specific facts to support the necessity of engaging in the pursuit despite the danger.”