[xerxes]

Revealed: LAPD officers told to collect social media data on every civilian they stop

$1:

The Los Angeles police department (LAPD) has directed its officers to collect the social media information of every civilian they interview, including individuals who are not arrested or accused of a crime, according to records shared with the Guardian.

Copies of the “field interview cards” that police complete when they question civilians reveal that LAPD officers are instructed to record a civilian’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media accounts, alongside basic biographical information. An internal memo further shows that the police chief, Michel Moore, told employees that it was critical to collect the data for use in “investigations, arrests, and prosecutions”, and warned that supervisors would review cards to ensure they were complete.

The documents, which were obtained by the not-for-profit organization the Brennan Center for Justice, have raised concerns about civil liberties and the potential for mass surveillance of civilians without justification.

“There are real dangers about police having all of this social media identifying information at their fingertips,” said Rachel Levinson-Waldman, a deputy director at the Brennan Center, noting that the information was probably stored in a database that could be used for a wide range of purposes.

The Brennan Center conducted a review of 40 other police agencies in the US and was unable to find another department that required social media collection on interview cards (though many have not publicly disclosed copies of the cards). The organization also obtained records about the LAPD’s social media surveillance technologies, which have raised questions about the monitoring of activist groups including Black Lives Matter.

Surveillance concerns
In 2015, the department added “social media accounts” as a line on the physical field interview cards, according to a newly unearthed memo from the previous LAPD chief, Charlie Beck. “Similar to a nickname or an alias, a person’s online persona or identity used for social media … can be highly beneficial to investigations,” he wrote.

While the social media collection has gone largely unnoticed, the LAPD’s use of field interview cards has prompted controversy. Last October, prosecutors filed criminal charges against three officers in the LAPD’s metro division, accusing them of using the cards to falsely label civilians as gang members after stopping them. That unit also has a history of stopping Black drivers at disproportionately high rates, and according to the LA Times, has more frequently filled out cards for Black and Latino residents they stopped.

Meanwhile, more than half of the civilians stopped by metro officers and documented in the cards were not arrested or cited, the Times reported. The fact that a department under scrutiny for racial profiling was also engaged in broad scale social media account collection is troubling, said Levinson-Waldman.

Furthermore, when police obtain social media usernames it opens the door for officers to monitor an individual’s connections and “friends” online, creating additional privacy concerns. “It allows for a huge expansion of network surveillance,” said Levinson-Waldman, noting how police and prosecutors have previously used Facebook photos and “likes” to make dubious or false allegations of criminal gang activity.

Hamid Khan of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition noted that the LAPD also shares data with federal law enforcement agencies through “fusion centers”, and has previously used “predictive policing” technologies that rely on data collected by officers in the field and which can criminalize communities of color.

“This is like stop and frisk,” he said, of the use of field interview cards. “And this is happening with the clear goal of surveillance.” The LAPD, he noted, has allowed officers to pose undercover to investigate groups, meaning officers can create fake social media accounts to infiltrate groups.

Dr Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA, said she had long suspected the LAPD conducted “targeted tracking” of specific groups or individual accounts, but was surprised to learn of the default collection of this information in everyday encounters. She fears this could be part of “a massive surveillance operation”.

The copies of the cards obtained by the Brennan Center also revealed that police are instructed to ask civilians for their social security numbers and are advised to tell interviewees that “it must be provided” under federal law. Kathleen Kim, a Loyola law professor and immigrants’ rights expert, who previously served on the LA police commission, said she was not aware of any law requiring individuals to disclose social security numbers to local police.

And she said she was shocked to learn about the social security section on the cards, noting that it was “so antithetical to the department’s own policies” and clearly violated the spirit of sanctuary laws, which are supposed to prevent officers from asking civilians their immigration status. The LAPD had previously taken steps to ensure it was not requesting place of birth information to improve trust with undocumented communities, she said.

The LAPD told the Guardian on Tuesday that the field interview card policy was “being updated”, but declined to provide further details....

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/08/revealed-los-angeles-police-officers-gathering-social-media

[Tricks]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ph ... g-n1279134

[Tricks]

WOW.

[DrCaleb]

'Only we can protect you"

[rickc]

Here we have a Canadian citizen that knows the laws better than a Beverly Hills cop. A cop who is pulling down over $243,000 a year.
https://calsalaries.com/erik-pena-101427

[DrCaleb]

^^^ Good explanation of 'Qualified Immunity'.

And so many times I have been pulled over for something, and no ticket was issued for that. Fuckers.

[Tricks]

"Reasonable mistake"

Not knowing that someone with a Canadian Drivers license is allowed to drive in the USA is not a "reasonable mistake". That's literally brain dead.

[Tricks]

American legal system is fucking moronic.

[rickc]

Tricks Tricks:

American legal system is fucking moronic.

How so?

[bootlegga]

rickc rickc:

Here we have a Canadian citizen that knows the laws better than a Beverly Hills cop. A cop who is pulling down over $243,000 a year.
https://calsalaries.com/erik-pena-101427

$1:

As Police Officer at Beverly Hills, Erik Pena made $243,203 in total compensation. Of this total $102,436 was received as a salary, $37,469 was received as overtime pay, $45,378 was received as benefits and $22,945 came from other types of compensation . This information is according to Beverly Hills payrolls for the 2018 fiscal year.

Those numbers don't add up and leaves out almost $35K in income, but wow, almost $140,000/year to be a cop in Beverly Hills!

[raydan]

Don't forget the side hustles.

[rickc]

bootlegga bootlegga:

rickc rickc:

Here we have a Canadian citizen that knows the laws better than a Beverly Hills cop. A cop who is pulling down over $243,000 a year.
https://calsalaries.com/erik-pena-101427

$1:

As Police Officer at Beverly Hills, Erik Pena made $243,203 in total compensation. Of this total $102,436 was received as a salary, $37,469 was received as overtime pay, $45,378 was received as benefits and $22,945 came from other types of compensation . This information is according to Beverly Hills payrolls for the 2018 fiscal year.

Those numbers don't add up and leaves out almost $35K in income, but wow, almost $140,000/year to be a cop in Beverly Hills!

Good catch!!! You must work in accounting where the numbers always have to add up. That part of California is expensive, but being a cop does not require a degree or even a skill. All it takes is 26 weeks of academy. It takes 1600 hours of schooling to become a hair dresser in California, thats 40 weeks of school minimum. Almost twice as long to cut hair, and you can't arrest or shoot people. Where else can someone with no education or skills start off making $88,546 in base salary plus a 10% signing bonus?
https://www.beverlyhills.org/cbhfiles/s ... EB2019.pdf

[Scape]

Woman Receives $2 million Settlement from Philly

[rickc]

This video shows why police should NEVER be allowed to investigate themselves. Every single case should go before an independent civilian review board, every time. The second that police backup arrives on the scene they go into CYA mode. A civilian tried to report police brutality that he witnessed only to be ridiculed and threatened by the Sgt. The Sgt states that he is "cautioning" the witness and even goes as far as to state that the witness is "interfering". This douchebag Sgt. needs to do some time behind bars. He was allowed to resign which means that he will be somewhere else next week doing the same shit that he did at his old department.

[raydan]

This should be fun!!!

New York City police union leader resigns after FBI raid on headquarters

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fb ... s-n1280810