Officer being investigated for check on Obama

A Philadelphia police officer is being investigated by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau because he allegedly used a police computer to run a criminal-background check on President Obama.

The officer has not been named by the department. Police said the officer was in a patrol car equipped with a mobile data terminal, which can access a national crime-information database.

The officer entered Obama's name and date of birth into the system this week to perform a background check, police said. The query automatically alerted the Secret Service, which informed the department.

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said officers are prohibited from using the computers for purposes not related to police work or investigations. - Allison Steele