Los Angeles police are investigating allegations that an officer cheated on a driving test by using goggles with a camera.

A Los Angeles police officer is suspected of recording promotional exam questions using “Mission Impossible”-style smart glasses with a camera, with the intention of passing the information on to other test-takers.

Department officials have launched an investigation into allegations that an officer, possibly in cahoots with others, cheated on a sergeant’s exam this year. In a statement Wednesday, the department confirmed that Internal Affairs investigators obtained a search warrant for electronic devices belonging to the city and private officers to look for evidence of potential wrongdoing.

According to the officer, whose name and duties were not disclosed, the officer gave investigators a forced interview.

A department statement issued in response to the Times investigation said it was investigating whether “a small group of employees … may have engaged in unethical conduct” in connection with the exam taken by about 1,600 officers hoping to be promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Read more:Who Will Be LAPD’s Next Chief? Likely Finalists Spotted at Mayor’s Mansion

While the press release did not mention the camera glasses, two sources familiar with the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly confirmed it was suspected to be a means of fraud.

Speculation about potential exam cheating had circulated within the department for weeks. The matter was raised at a senior management meeting this month, where interim chief Dominic Choi did not dismiss the reports as rumors, saying the matter was still under investigation. When contacted by a Times reporter a few days later, Choi said the department had no evidence that it was true.

Since those initial denials, new information has emerged that requires more detailed review, department officials said.

Deputy Chief Michael Rimkunas of the Bureau of Professional Standards, which includes the Internal Affairs Division, said that while the exam is intended for Los Angeles Police Department officers, it is administered by the city’s Human Resources Department, which first investigated the allegations independently of the LAPD’s Internal Affairs Division.

Read more:LAPD union leader faces complaints that his security firm hires and underpays problem cops

As a result, Rimkunas said, LAPD officials only knew about “nonspecific rumors.” The department continued its own investigation after receiving “additional actionable information” from personnel officers, he said.

“At the time, there were no details about who might have been involved or the exact method by which someone might have cheated,” he said.

Investigators searched devices belonging to unnamed officers on Tuesday, the department said.

The department said Wednesday that no officers had been fired in connection with the incident. It also said it was unclear what impact, if any, the allegations would have on exam results. Potential sergeant candidates also face oral interviews, which have been put on hold, according to a department email obtained by The Times.

A spokesman for the Department of Human Resources said he would need to consult with the department’s director general before discussing the matter.

Sign up for Essential California to get news, features and recommendations from the LA Times and other newspapers delivered straight to your inbox six days a week.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.