The article doesn't say that the police are sharing "any data on seized smartphones." What it actually says is:

"In the case of the Virginia database, it’s unclear whether content from seized cellphones—such as text messages— is included in the database or if it just contains so-called metadata describing the phone numbers called, the calls received and their date and duration."

This is what I mean when I say that the Wired article does not have enough information for me to know whether anything shady is going on or not.