Law Enforcement Agencies Bumping Up Demands For Uber Customers' Data

Furnished content.


If it generates records -- especially third-party records -- the government is going to come asking for them.Not only is Uber's ride-hailing service subject to a bizarre and inconsistent set of state-level regulations, it's also a storage facility containing plenty of data about people's travels. Taking an Uber may keep a rider's license plate off the ALPR radar, but the government can still track people's movements by asking Uber for customer data, which presumably includes where they traveled and when.Zack Whittaker of TechCrunch says government agencies are taking more of an interest in Uber's data collection, according to the company's latest transparency report:

The ride-hailing company said the number of law enforcement demands for user data during 2018 are up 27% on the year earlier, according to its annual transparency report published Wednesday. Uber said the rise in demands was partly due to its business growing in size, but also a “rising interest” from governments to access data on its customers.Uber said it received 3,825 demands for 21,913 user accounts from the U.S. government, with the company turning over some data in 72% of cases, during 2018.

0 comments, click here to add the first

Court Tosses 82 Pounds Of Marijuana After Deputy Fails To Even Pretend His Traffic Stop Was Anything But Pretextual

Furnished content.


Hot damn. A proper application of the Supreme Court's Rodriguez decision. (via FourthAmendment.com)The Rodriguez decision -- while ultimately not helpful to Dennys Rodriguez -- put a small damper on pretextual traffic stops. This isn't to say cops cannot engage in pretextual stops. They can. They can imagine almost any violation of traffic laws to initiate a stop and then angle for a consensual vehicle search after that.The Supreme Court's ruling said a traffic stop ends when the objective ends. If someone is speeding, the issuance of a warning or citation ends the stop. No waiting around for a drug dog. No endless pestering of the driver in hopes of getting a peek in the trunk. It also made it clear a Fourth Amendment violation is a Fourth Amendment violation, no matter how short the interval between the end of the stop and the arrival of a drug dog or the permission to perform a search.Cops have tried to cut it close by making stops short but having a K-9 unit nearby to do a sniff while paperwork is completed. Sometimes it works. Sometimes there's enough stuff going on cops can talk courts into believing reasonable suspicion to extend the stop existed.But more and more, this stuff that cops have been doing for years doesn't work. In this case, the existence of a body camera recording puts the court on the side of the defendant. Score one for civilians and accountability. Without this footage, this decision might have gone the other way.Deputy Cody O'Hare started following a car because he thought it was driving too slow in the fast lane. The rental car was only doing 60 mph in a 70-mph speed zone, which is a violation of Iowa state law. Driving slower than the speed limit is permissible, but a failure to move into an unimpeded right-hand lane isn't.The traffic stop was initiated but it soon became clear Deputy O'Hare could not have cared less about the perceived infraction. From the decision [PDF]:

Deputy O’Hare initiated a conversation with [Juan] Salcedo and asked about his travel plans. Salcedo explained he was driving back from California after visiting his girlfriend. Salcedo further explained his home was New York City and he and the passenger, who Salcedo identified as his cousin, were traveling together. Deputy O’Hare repeatedly thumbed through the rental car agreement. In response to Salcedo’s questioning about the reason for the stop, Deputy O’Hare said there was no reason for Salcedo to be driving in the fast lane. The conversation continued while Deputy O’Hare again quickly and repeatedly flipped through the rental car agreement. Salcedo stated he initially flew from New York to Florida and then flew from Florida to California. Salcedo and his cousin rented a car in California to drive back to New York City. It appeared, based on the body camera footage, that Deputy O’Hare put forth no effort to process the traffic infraction.

Within seven minutes of Salcedo being pulled over, another patrol car arrived and Deputy O’Hare exited his car to speak with Deputy Lenz. Salcedo remained in the front seat of Deputy O’Hare’s car. Deputy O’Hare’s body camera leaves no doubt that he was quite disappointed to learn a drug dog was not available.

Deputy O’Hare noted the presence of three cell phones for a car containing only two people. He also observed the back seat of the rental car contained “a lot of luggage.” Deputy O’Hare asked Rodriguez if all of their personal property was situated in the back seat, to which Rodriguez responded it was. At the suppression hearing upon cross-examination, Deputy O’Hare testified he noticed these red flags “right away” from his initial observation of the rental car but only further inquired about them while speaking with Rodriguez.

The State’s two-count trial information charged Salcedo and Rodriguez with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(d) and failure to affix drug tax stamp in violation of Iowa Code chapter 453B.

Deputy O’Hare admitted that it was his intention to investigate issues other than the traffic infraction. He based this view on the fact that “it was a rental vehicle, the three phones, luggage in the back seat, and it becoming a third-party rental.” Deputy O’Hare explained generating traffic citations required entering information into the computer. In response to whether he had ever entered Salcedo’s information into the computer, Deputy O’Hare stated, “No. I was never—never entered information into a traffic citation.”

What becomes immediately apparent is Deputy O’Hare’s complete lack of effort to address Salcedo’s specific traffic infraction. Six minutes elapsed from the time Salcedo entered the patrol car to the time Deputy O’Hare departed to speak with Deputy Lenz. Deputy O’Hare admitted that, throughout the duration of the stop, he did not ask Salcedo questions regarding the traffic infraction. The body camera revealed Deputy O’Hare repeatedly thumbing through the rental agreement. There does not appear to be any attempt to gain understanding of the document. To the contrary, the incessant page flipping appears to be a stalling tactic to keep the conversation going until a drug dog arrived. During this time, he did not attempt to run a check of Salcedo’s identifying documents or criminal histories, and he did not prepare a traffic citation or warning. Deputy O’Hare admitted, “I was never—never entered information into a traffic citation.”The body camera further supports Salcedo’s position that Deputy O’Hare was stringing along the stop until a drug dog arrived. Shortly after Salcedo entered the patrol car, Deputy O’Hare requested assistance. When Deputy Lenz arrived, Deputy O’Hare was immediately disappointed to learn a drug dog was not available. Deputy O’Hare also testified at the suppression hearing that he knew from the time of the stop that he would be investigating issues other than the traffic infraction.

0 comments, click here to add the first