Police sergeant who formerly guarded Mayor Frey charged with stalking ex colleague

A former Minneapolis police sergeant and security guard for Mayor Jacob Frey was charged on Wednesday for allegedly using Apple AirTags and police databases to stalk an ex-coworker with whom he had been in a romantic relationship.

Gordon Blackey, 59, is charged in Anoka County with two gross misdemeanors of harassment and unauthorized use of a tracking device and two counts of misdemeanor due to unauthorized acquisition of nonpublic data.

Blackey has worked with the police for over 27 years and served as Mayor Frey's driver and bodyguard until May. The Mayor's office responded to a comment from Bring Me The News, saying Frey takes the charges seriously and that "the police department assigns security details, so we refer to their statement."

MPD confirmed it is aware of the charges and that Blackey "is an employee with the City of Minneapolis." Chief Brian O'Hara also released a statement on the incident, saying: "I am, of course, very concerned about the charges, but I'll refrain from commenting further to maintain the integrity of the criminal legal process."

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, a sergeant with a Minnesota police department, discovered an AirTag in her car on March 18 after getting a notification on her daughter's iPhone. The iPhone showed that an unknown AirTag was actively tracking their movements, and she found it in the wheel well.

She recognized the last four digits of the phone number linked to the AirTag as Blackey's, and when she confronted him the following day, he admitted doing it because he "cared about her." The two had briefly dated for a year before the incident and were broken up, maintaining a friendly work relationship.

She expressed discomfort with the situation and told Blackey she no longer wanted to be around him despite their professional association.

Blackey invited her for a drink on April 30, which she declined. However, later that evening, while at a restaurant with friends in Blaine, she noticed Blackey sitting inside the restaurant. The complaint says despite Blackey acting friendly, she became concerned that he may have been tracking her location without her knowledge.

She became more alarmed as she remembered previous occasions when Blackey had appeared at events unannounced or displayed intimate knowledge about the details of her life.

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She reported the incidents to her local police department on May 7. Following an investigation by the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, it was revealed that Blackey installed the AirTag in the victim's car without a court order and that he had used police databases to find private information about her.

Blackey's iCloud account contained photos taken on March 4 that showed a computer screen displaying private driver's license information. According to the complaint, this information was obtained from a state database accessible to police officers.

The private data that was found included the victim, her father, and the driver's license belonging to one of her coworkers.

Despite having no legitimate purpose, Blackey also allegedly accessed the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension database to obtain private information, such as the addresses of her father and coworker.

Blackey admitted to police in September that he placed the AirTag in the sergeant's car and had been tracking her location on "several occasions." He also admitted to using his access as a police officer to obtain private information from the BCA records about the victims without a legitimate law enforcement purpose.

During a follow-up interview on July 19, the police sergeant said the emotional distress caused by Blackey's stalking had caused her anxiety, trouble sleeping, and issues with her work performance.

His first court appearance is scheduled for October 29 at 1:30 p.m.