SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Back in 2012, the US Supreme Court ruled that it's illegal for the police to attach a GPS tracking device to someone's car without a warrant. But what if you find a GPS tracking device on your car? Can you remove it?
A little more than a year ago, the state of Indiana charged a suspected drug dealer with theft for removing a government-owned GPS tracking device from his SUV. This month, the state's Supreme Court began considering the case, and some justices seemed skeptical of the government's argument.
"I'm really struggling with how is that theft," said Justice Steven David during recent oral arguments.
-- submitted from IRC
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Cops Put GPS Tracker on Man's Car, Charge Him With Theft for Removing It
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 47 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
It's not reality that's important, but how you perceive things.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:33AM (18 children)
Wouldn't that be some kind of entrapment? Put obvious device on suspect, if they do something about it they are a criminal? What would be the proper respons if you found a tracking device? Call the police (or other such org) and ask them to come over and remove it?
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:46AM (1 child)
They're probably closing in on you already. I'd recommend removing the tracker, attaching it to a tasty treat of some sort, then leaving the region. Here's a helpful instructional video [youtube.com], courtesy of a previous California governor.
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:54AM
Sounds like he's in league with Elon!
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:46AM (2 children)
What would you do if you found an object that is not illegal for you to posses in one of your pockets and you are paranoid about it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:50AM (1 child)
Donate compromised item of clothing to homeless shelter.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday November 21 2019, @03:18AM
Hope you wiped that object clean of your fingerprints/DNA before and the donation was a drop in a bin rather than in person.
Translating the tactic to your car with a tracking device attached would mean quite an act of charity (except if it's actually a lemon).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @01:47AM (1 child)
Sell your car and let the next sucker take the heat.
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Thursday November 21 2019, @08:55PM
I hear Steve Jobs got a new car every six months. Ostensibly, it was for other reasons related to permanent license plates, but this would also fit into his use case.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @02:09AM
Call the Bomb Squad and the local news.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday November 21 2019, @02:09AM
No, even simpler: be a good citizen and return the device to them yourself. Stick it under a police car and let them follow themselves.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by RS3 on Thursday November 21 2019, @02:23AM (4 children)
It smells of entrapment, but that said, I know someone who was entrapped a year ago and things did not go well for the poor lad. I feel like I'm overstating the obvious, but it seems the cops have no rules.
One of my questions, and maybe I missed it in the article: does the device have identifying information on it?
If I found a random unmarked thing up under my vehicle, I'd likely take it apart, or see if it can be microwaved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @05:41AM (3 children)
If the device had any visible identification the judges wouldn't be taking his claim seriously that he didn't know what it was or where it came from.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:03AM
Of course.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Bot on Thursday November 21 2019, @10:59AM (1 child)
so all I have to do to stalk someone is to put a sticker 'police thingy do not remove' next to a gps... interesting...
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday November 21 2019, @02:27PM
In the United Police States of America.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by edIII on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:18AM (3 children)
No, it's not entrapment. Entrapment requires that the action be illegal. Removing unknown property from your property and doing anything with it is perfectly legal. You can throw it away, beat your nipples with it, exchange it for a gold idol on a platform, and as the Internet informs me is possible with anything, shove it up your butt.
In fact, the police implicitly provided permission by placing it upon the accused's property in the first place. Unilateral contracts that lack informed consent, or even knowledge, are bullshit on their face. If I deliberately placed a cantaloupe on your front seat, you are obviously not guilty of theft for removing it.
I'm sure there is some sort of legal mumbo jumbo for it, but it sounds like the police abandoned their property underneath a citizen's vehicle.
If we make it illegal for an alleged suspect to defend themselves against surveillance apparatus, especially when it's not readily identifiable as a sanctioned government activity, then it's trivially easy to imprison anyone.
This is ridiculous that those involved need to be removed from government. It's very clearly abuse, and it's not excusable just because it's an alleged drug dealer.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @07:36AM (1 child)
My physician brother noted that he learned during an emergency room rotation while in med school, that not only is it possible, but that such activity with a wide variety of objects, happens on a pretty regular basis.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @10:21PM
According to a friend of mine about his time in the ER, only one person out of the entire lot of people who came in like that (of at least one a day) admitted to putting it up his own rectum. Most everyone else claimed to be doing some activity naked and then falling on the object. Hundreds of people, only one fessed up.
Although, there is a funny story he told me. He was at the entry desk with the triage nurse when a gentlemen walked in with another person assisting them and a noticeable limp. The nurse asks what he needs and he says something along the lines of "I was at home doing some work on my garage and I somehow fell and a piece of rebar went in my ass and I'm afraid to pull it out on my own." The nurse sighs, goes to hand him the stock form and says they can probably see him in 30 minutes when the other guy asks, "I don't want to be a bother, but since it is going to be so long could one of you hold on to the rebar so I can wash my hands and maybe get a pair of gloves." My friend agrees, grabs some gloves, and walks around and sees the friend's hand isn't holding anything near the guy's rectum. No, there is a piece of rebar sticking out of the lower-middle of the cheek and coming out somewhere in the thigh gushing blood. He tells the nurse to admit him right away, she stands up to take a look at herself looks the guy dead in the eye and says, "you really need to describe that differently next time because I was picturing something else." The friend with him says, "What is that supp... (nurse does a pointing up gesture) Man! Noah needs to build another boat."
(Score: 3, Informative) by Osamabobama on Thursday November 21 2019, @09:00PM
That platform is Craigslist.com, although you may have better results (with more steps) on ebay.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.