Former Missouri State Trooper Charged with Civil Rights Crimes

CAPE GIRARDEAU - A former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was indicted Tuesday and accused of unlawfully searching women's cell phones during traffic stops to find nude pictures.

David McKnight, 39, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau with one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and nine counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The indictment says that between Sept. 1, 2023, and August 19, 2024, McKnight took cell phones from nine different women. McKnight then searched the phones and used his personal cell phone to photograph nude pictures that he found, the indictment says. He later deleted the images from his cell phone, it says.

McKnight stopped most of the women for traffic violations, the indictment says. He took their phones under the auspices of confirming that they had insurance coverage or verifying their identification, it says.

"These allegations are being taken very seriously, and we'd like to encourage anyone who believes they had a concerning interaction with McKnight to contact the FBI," said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or via tips.fbi.gov.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.