Mustafa Aktas

Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)

The Guttenberg Police Department suspended SLEO I Mustafa Aktas for 5 days, totaling 60 hours, in 2025. Internal affairs received reports that Aktas sent a female officer an unsolicited picture through Snapchat. During a March 2025 interview, investigators found that Aktas was recording the session, which he first denied and then confirmed, and he had not obtained authorization to record. Aktas was sustained on charges of standards of conduct, candor, and prohibited activity on-duty.

Synopsis as reported by the agency

On February 19, 2025, the Internal Affairs Unit of the Guttenberg Police Department received several internal reports concerning the conduct of SLEO I Mustafa Aktas. One of the internal reports was from a female officer of this agency, alleging that SLEO I Aktas sent an unsolicited picture of his clothed groin area, appearing to be erect. The alleged incident took place the day prior, on February 18, 2025. The picture was sent via Snapchat, a social media platform where sent items disappear after viewing. A screenshot of the picture was not taken. On March 10, 2025, SLEO I Aktas was interviewed as part of the internal investigation. During the interview, it was discovered that he had been discreetly recording it. This was discovered by a sound that the phone made, which was heard by investigators. When questioned by investigators, SLEO I Aktas stated that he was not recording and that the sound was the phone's unlock sound. SLEO I Aktas was ordered to lock his phone and unlock it to confirm the sound. The sound was not consistent with the previously heard sound. SLEO I Aktas was then ordered to initiate a recording and then terminate it. It was confirmed that he was recording the interview. When asked again, SLEO I Aktas stated that, because the interview was being recorded by investigators, he believed that he was permitted to record it as well, contradicting his earlier statement that he was not recording. SLEO I Aktas was later asked whether he had obtained authorization from the Chief Law Enforcement Officer or his designee to record the interview, and he stated that he had not. The 5-day suspension of SLEO I Aktas totaled 60 hours.

Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)

On August 30, 2025, a sick leave verification was conducted on SLEO I Mustafa Aktas at the Guttenberg Police Department. Aktas criticized the verification in a text message to the administrative lieutenant, then edited the message and said it had been intended for his brother. An internal investigation found that he had also sent the message to another member of the agency and gave untrue accounts of what happened. Aktas received a 5-day suspension totaling 60 hours, and charges including candor and criticism of official acts were sustained.

Synopsis as reported by the agency

On Saturday, August 30, 2025, a sick leave verification was conducted on SLEO I Aktas. Shortly after the verification, Aktas criticized the sick leave verification by texting the administrative lieutenant, saying, “They really sent [REDACTED] to my crib that’s insane LMFAOO.” After realizing the text had been sent to the administrative lieutenant, Aktas edited it and removed the “LMFAOO” to make the message seem more appropriate. The administrative lieutenant questioned Aktas, and he stated that the message was intended for his brother. The admin lieutenant asked Aktas whether his brother knew the supervisor sent to his house, given the wording of the text message, and he stated that he did. He stated that he knew him from past work events that the two had attended. Members of the command staff questioned Aktas about the incident on September 4, 2025. The setting was informal and was not recorded, but internal reports documenting the incident were generated and submitted to internal affairs. Aktas stated that the message was intended for his brother and that he did not send it to anyone at this agency. The administrative lieutenant learned that another member of this agency had received the same text message and brought him into the informal meeting, where he questioned him about whether he had received the message, which he stated he had. Aktas then stated that he may have sent the message to the other member, but was not sure. Prior to that, Aktas was given multiple opportunities to admit that he sent the message to another member and that the member was the intended recipient. An internal investigation revealed that the other member received the message before it was edited, suggesting it was copied and sent to the intended recipient. A screenshot of the text to his brother was provided by Aktas. That message was the edited version, without the “LMFAOO”, meaning that it was sent to his brother after he sent it to the admin lieutenant. In addition to sending the edited version to his brother, he also sent it 22 minutes after it was sent to the admin lieutenant, clearly spending significant time crafting a story in case he was asked about it. When questioned by internal affairs, he indicated that he only sent the message to the other member to ask whether he’d get in trouble for sending it. Aktas provided screenshots of the conversation, and his statement was not true. The screenshots are clear: he sent the message to criticize the sick leave verification process, which is done to ensure the efficient operation of the department. The 5-day suspension of SLEO I Aktas totaled 60 hours.