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Bank robber accuses police of illegally using Google location data to catch him


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2019 Nov 22, 8:55am   322 views  3 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

https://hagerstownairport.org/2019/11/22/bank-robber-accuses-police-of-illegally-using-google-location-data-to-catch-him/

After surveillance footage showed the assailant holding a cellphone before he entered the bank, police drafted a search warrant asking Google to provide location information from every user that was within the vicinity of the bank within the hour of the crime.

The results came back with 19 anonymized individuals.

Virginia police whittled down the list to nine users and then asked Google for additional data from an expanded time frame. According to court documents reviewed by The Post, police contacted Google again: they wanted three users’ account details, including names, email addresses, subscriber information and phone numbers.

The type of request made in Chatrie’s case, also known as a “geofence” warrant, is increasingly being sought by law enforcement across the country.

These warrants, which target a geographic area instead of a suspect, compel tech companies to turn over location data from any user interacting with its technology during a specified time.

“Individuals may be caught up in this search by merely using an Android phone, conducting an Internet search using Google, running a Google application such as Google Maps or YouTube, or even receiving an automatic weather update from an Android service,” Chatrie’s attorney, Michael Price, wrote in an October motion.

Geofence warrants, he said, “ensnare anyone who uses Google services at specific times … sweeping up innocent individuals in an unconstitutional dragnet search;” court documents noted that within the vicinity of Credit Union was a major highway, a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, a Hampton Inn hotel, a storage facility, two apartment complexes and a church.

Calling the warrant an illegal Fourth Amendment search, Price asked the court to suppress any evidence obtained from it.

“No valid search warrant would permit the police to search every house in a neighborhood or pat down everyone in sight. Yet, with a Geofence warrant, law enforcement can do just that,” he continued, and “without ever demonstrating any likelihood that Google even has data connected to a crime.”


The robber was an idiot. But it illustrates the point that no one should use any Google service for anything, ever. There are alternatives.

Comments 1 - 3 of 3        Search these comments

1   HeadSet   2019 Nov 22, 9:02am  

That is really no different than looking at nearby business surveillance cameras or car dashcams that were in the area and may have recorded useful video.
2   mell   2019 Nov 22, 2:12pm  

HeadSet says
That is really no different than looking at nearby business surveillance cameras or car dashcams that were in the area and may have recorded useful video.


Agreed. Just much more powerful. Still there are big problems if you end up in a dragnet due to this, they should probably limit this to acute situations and/or violent crimes.
3   FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut   2019 Nov 23, 9:36am  

I figured long ago that if government wants to find something out, they'll just track down the user via the phone... google or not it doesn't matter. they'll just reach out to the phone providers (at&t, verizon, etc...). Our phones are good tools, but also are tracking devices for government. Have to keep that in mind.

I do find it funny, how guy sues the government... "how dare you catch me!" lol.

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