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DannyB [soylentnews.org] writes:

Cops Are Starting To Tow Away Teslas To ‘Secure’ Recordings Captured By The Cars’ Cameras [techdirt.com]

Well, here’s a not-so-fun new twist in the search-and-seizure narrative. Car owners are being deprived of their vehicles just because cops think footage of a crime may have been captured by the car’s on-board cameras.

[....] But being in the wrong place at the wrong time might mean drivers going without cars because cops have decided the best way to secure this potential evidence is to take cars away from their drivers. Here’s Rachel Swan, reporting for the San Francisco Chronicle. [sfchronicle.com] (h/t Bluesky user Hypervisible [bsky.app])

A Canadian tourist was visiting Oakland recently when he had to talk someone out of taking his Tesla from a hotel parking lot.

This was no thief. It was the Oakland Police Department. Turns out, the Tesla may have witnessed a homicide.

In Oakland and beyond, police called to crime scenes are increasingly looking for more than shell casings and fingerprints. They’re scanning for Teslas parked nearby, hoping their unique outward-facing cameras captured key evidence. And, the Chronicle has found, they’re even resorting to obtaining warrants to tow the cars to ensure they don’t lose the video.

[....] At least warrants appear to be involved at this point, which means there’s a paper trail documenting law enforcement’s seizure of the inanimate “witness.” Unfortunately, that’s not going to mean much to car owners who may walk out of their houses, businesses, or places of worship to discover their vehicle missing.

Even though this is handled about as well as it can be at this point in time, this kind of thing is only going to become more common. And, inevitably, some cops are going to decide they don’t have time to get a warrant, much less make a good faith effort to secure the recordings from the vehicle’s owner before initiating a seizure.

Coming soon! Owners of cars without cameras considered to be obstructing justice.

Original Submission