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Posted on 08/27/2014 3:37:04 PM PDT by Bobka
The Tacoma Police Department apparently has bought — and quietly used for six years — controversial surveillance equipment that can sweep up records of every cellphone call, text message and data transfer up to a half a mile away.
You don’t have to be a criminal to be caught in this law enforcement snare. You just have to be near one and use a cellphone.
Police Chief Don Ramsdell, through a spokeswoman, declined an interview request to talk about the police department’s apparent purchase of a Stingray device and associated technology. The department cited a nondisclosure agreement it has with the FBI.
The police department did offer to have a lieutenant review The News Tribune’s questions but only if they were submitted in advance so that they could be vetted to determine whether they violated the FBI agreement. The newspaper sent questions, and the department said it would respond Wednesday (Aug. 27).
Earlier this month, city officials blacked out portions of relevant purchase documents requested by The News Tribune.
Deputy City Attorney Michael Smith redacted much of the identifying information on a May 2013 invoice for the equipment, saying disclosure “would allow the identification of confidential pieces of technology.”
However, unredacted portions of those public records as well as other documents reviewed by The News Tribune indicate the Police Department has had the ability to wirelessly search neighborhoods since as early as 2008.
The Police Department appears to have updated its equipment last year with money authorized by a City Council whose members now say they didn’t know what they were buying.
“I’ve got to find out what I voted on before I comment,” Councilman David Boe said Monday. “This is new information.”
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/08/26/3347665/documents-tacoma-police-using.html?sp=/99/289/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy
The cops here in Tacoma are the usual: Untrustworthy.
“The department cited a nondisclosure agreement it has with the FBI”
Your NDA can actually be pierced if the act it covers is unlawful...
Isn’t this the same police department that forced a guy to have 3 anal probings to search for non existent drugs, because he rolled through a stop sign and “appeared” to be clenching his ass cheeks?
No, that was in New Mexico.
Now where have we heard that before?
“I don’t know why they were talking,” she said. “Then all of a sudden, (the officer) yelled something and she tried Tasing him, but missed. When the guy started to run away, (the officer) immediately threw the Taser down, pulled her gun out and shot.”The man seemed to be running in slow motion — possibly drunkenly — as he attempted to flee, Graham said. That’s when the officer fired four shots, several of which appeared to hit the man, she added.“I didn’t see anything in his hands,” Graham added. “I didn’t see him do anything physical or threatening. I’ve just never seen anything like that before in my life — a person just getting shot like that. It was just heartbreaking.” -
Posted by averagecitizen at 9:13 a.m. Jun. 30, 2013
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Folks we watched this while waiting in the turn lane. From what I viewed the slow moving but irritated homeless man was absolutely murdered. I could have restrained him with one arm. To be watching something that seemed sorta funny be turned into a shooting......I am not comfortable as a tax paying and law abiding citizen in Tacoma anymore. maybe time to relocate our business as this type of event is now all to common in Tacoma.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/man-wounded-after-being-shot-police/nYZQr/
This is actually happening ALL OVER THE USA, Tacoma is only different in that there it has come to light.
The ACLU fiends got the Feds to fess up to all manner of post Snowden stuff and the ONE thing they wouldn’t talk about was THIS.
Happening allll over.
Keep building that turnkey police state.
BOE DOESN’T KNOW!
I drive a new Stingray. I had no idea it could do that.
I’d better go check the Owners Manual.
From the article here.
I just went out to the Garage to take a look.
There is no Cell Tower attached to the Corvette, so I guess they didn’t include that Option when they built the Car.
I still haven’t figure out why there isn’t an app that will allow you to selectively choose which cell towers to connect with. Once it has learned the ones in your regular areas, any new Stingray “intruder” would be ignored. It wouldn’t be very practical in a busy city with a zillion nodes, but areas served by few towers wouldn’t be a problem at all to train.
That would be illegal, so when will these individuals be arrested?
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