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posted by janrinok on Friday February 03 2017, @10:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the you-have-no-privacy;-get-over-it dept.

Cory Doctorow reports via Boing Boing

Ross Compton, a 59-year-old homeowner in Middletown, Ohio called 911 in September 2016 to say that his house was on fire; there were many irregularities to the blaze that investigators found suspicious, such as contradictory statements from Compton and the way that the fire had started.

In the ensuing investigation, the police secured a warrant for the logs from his pacemaker, specifically, "Compton's heart rate, pacer demand, and cardiac rhythms before, during, and after the fire".

[...] The data from the pacemaker didn't correspond with Compton's version of what happened.

[...] [The cops] subsequently filed charges of felony aggravated arson and insurance fraud.

Cory links to coverage by Network World.


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  • (Score: 2) by Jesus_666 on Saturday February 04 2017, @02:01PM

    by Jesus_666 (3044) on Saturday February 04 2017, @02:01PM (#462840)
    I'm generally not gung-ho about killing people but in this situation the bomb might be preferred over the gas because there is likely a certain time frame between the gas being released, the gas being detected (even if just by one person in the room becoming unconscious) and all suspects being unconscious. If the suspects are capable of causing major harm during that time frame (eg. they have a remote detonator for a bomb of their own) it may be decided that the risk of them being able to react to the gas before they're unconscious is too great.

    In practice, though, I'd say that the main reason for choosing remote bombs over remote gas canisters is that with the remote bomb the rugged protagonist gets to make a pithy remark just before pushing the button that causes a highly telegenic fireball to erupt from the target room's windows. Gas is usually not administered by means of gimmicky robot but would more likely be released into a conveniently accessible air vent from which it would then spread to incapacitate exactly all hostile people in the building exactly long enough for the quirky team of specialists to carry out a crucial part of their clever plan.
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  • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday February 04 2017, @06:04PM

    by deimtee (3272) on Saturday February 04 2017, @06:04PM (#462884) Journal

    It wasn't an entirely theoretical question : http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/8/12129348/dallas-shooting-bomb-robot [theverge.com]

    --
    If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.