Posted on 01/26/2015 6:17:03 PM PST by BenLurkin
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck complained in a letter to Google’s chief executive on Dec. 30 that Waze could be “misused by those with criminal intent to endanger police officers and the community.”
The Los Angeles Police Department said Monday it had not heard back from Google about whether it had addressed Beck’s concerns.
Google purchased Waze for $966 million in 2013.
There are no known connections between any attack on police and Waze, although Beck said Waze was used in the killing of two New York Police Department officers on Dec. 20. The Instagram account of the gunman in that case included a screenshot from Waze along with other messages threatening police.
Investigators do not believe the shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, used Waze to ambush the NYPD officers, in part because police say Brinsley tossed his cellphone more than two miles from where he shot the officers. In his letter to Google, Beck said that Brinsley had been using the Waze app to track police since early December.
“I am confident your company did not intend the Waze app to be a means to allow those who wish to commit crimes to use the unwitting Waze community as their lookouts for the location of police officers,” Beck wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com ...
SoCal ping
they got to change their evil.... Waze
Poor cops worried about their revenue grab.
I’m actually installing this app at this very moment, and I’ll upload information to it every time I can. I was reading of it on another site. I hope everyone with a smartphone installs it, and uses it!
Well played
It’s every citizens absolute right to know where the cops are and what they’re doing. If the cops want keep a secret, it’s up to them to keep the secret. If a citizen finds out and wants to discuss it, that’s a first amendment right.
i had no idea there was such a thing as WAZE.
im guessing its a mobile phone app rather than a website..?
ba..by.....
does this ean that carlos...santana is a prophet.??
Now I’m torn. I’ve been using Waze for about five months. Now I find out its a part of Gargoyle. I despise Gargoyle! Maybe I should start by looking for an alternative.
They need a radar trap warning.
It be both.
You can't live without it in Southern California.
It's free. Get over it.
O dont doubt that google would be more than willing to share the identity of its WAZE clients....on occasion...24/7
ya needs it.... every which waze ya go...
How about getting rid of stop-light-cameras.
Yes
Waze doesn't track cops, it allows users to report their fixed positions (useless if they are moving) and report that they are or are not on the position on their map that someone else reported.
Waze is fantastic NAV app and free too. I use it driving everywhere and love reporting police car positions, its linked to bing to find businesses. Also finds nearest gas stations and prices.
The LAPD are FOS on this, They hate it because its protected by the First amendment so they can do little but whine about it.
“Nuala O’Connor, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington civil liberties group, said it would not be appropriate for Google to disable the police-reporting feature.
“I do not think it is legitimate to ask a person-to-person communication to cease simply because it reports on publicly visible law enforcement,” she said”
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