I read through this and the use of the word subpoena is wrong by several of you. A subpoena is issued by a court when a case is pending. You can't get a subpoena for something that hasn't gone to court yet.
If you want phone records from the telephone company, you need to write a search warrant for records. Once you take your evidence to court and file charges, then a subpoena can be issued for anything from papers/records to people for testimony.
Now if a case is active and the court wants more information, a subpoena can be issued for phone company records, but not until there is a case pending.
Let's clear up one other thing. A peace officer has the right to electronically check on someone (search databases) if he is actively investigating a crime. He can also release basic information in a traffic situation, such as was done with the OP (same as going to the station to get a copy of the traffic report).
Where police officers get in trouble is when they run vehicles or people that they are not actively investigating. Example....A police officer's neighbor says....can you run this license plate for me, I want to know where this guy lives. If the police officer does and releases that information, he's susceptible to punishment from his Department and civil penalties (he doesn't even need to release the info to be in violation). In order to search any databases, you as a police officer must logon with your ID. All of your activity can then be tracked. All police Departments are required to have their officers sign a form once a year indicating they understand the rules governing the use of databases. Audits are often done looking for illegal use.
Many of your smaller agencies can take Federal grants and outfit their vehicles with some of the latest technology. In the OP's case, they ran each driver for warrants, filled in the basics of a traffic collision report, got a Department Case Number assigned and was able to print out a copy for each party. It's nice when technology works, in this situation kept everyone involved from having to run down to the police department to get a copy of the report for the insurance company. Larger departments are slower developing this technology due to the increased costs because of their shear size (more patrol cars to outfit).
