Ex-Norwalk Police Officer Edgar Gonzalez Accused Of Falsifying Traffic Stop Reports

NORWALK, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- A former Connecticut police officer is facing forgery and computer crime charges. He's accused of falsifying reports of stopping drivers and issuing them warning citations, when, in fact, he never did.

Police told CBS2's Tony Aiello on Wednesday they're still trying to understand why he allegedly did it.

It started with a phone call to Norwalk police last April from an out-of-state driver asking about a mysterious traffic warning citation on their record.

"They had gotten word that they had received a written warning, but had never actually received one in person," Sgt. Sofia Gulino said.

Gulino said cops ran an audit and made a strange discovery. Traffic Division Officer Edgar Gonzalez had entered multiple warning tickets into the system, all for out-of-state motorists, without ever actual stopping the drivers.

Norwalk police said they don't know how Gonzalez obtained the names of the drivers he allegedly entered into the system, or why those particular drivers were chosen.

And as for possible motive, Gulino said, "We don't know why he would actually do that. It's unclear to us what his reasoning was."

"Maybe he has to make a quota. Who knows? Sometimes they get too much pressure," Norwalk resident Dennis Doyle said.

That's certainly the speculation by residents posting on the police department's Facebook page.

Aiello asked Gulino if Norwalk traffic cops have quotas.

"They're officers that do their job well. There is no quota for them," Gulino said.

Gonzalez was one of three cops Norwalk hired in December 2015. He's the second of the three to leave. Sara Laudano resigned last year after being charged with skipping calls while drinking on the job. Gonzalez resigned while under investigation.

"We're very disappointed that this has happened," Gulino said.

Police said protocols are in place to help prevent future falsification of traffic stop records.

Norwalk police said after an audit all the falsified warning citations have been removed from drivers' records.