Says Soghoian: "The only thing stopping the government from using this technology to listen to phone calls or spy on hundreds of innocent people are the legal policies put in place by the law enforcement agency, and the kind of court order they've obtained."
But Beck and his spokespeople refuse to reveal to the Weekly their StingRay legal policy — and even rebuffed a simple records request, filed by the Weekly on Aug. 1, asking how much money LAPD has spent on the devices. Moreover, that was the Weekly's second request. LAPD ignored state law, taking 92 days instead of the maximum 24 allowed to respond.
Terry Francke, executive director of Californians Aware, which fights California governmental bodies reticent to open public records to public inspection, says in an email, "The public records act appears to have been grossly violated here" by Beck's staff.
Documents from the StingRay II purchase approved by the City Council in 2010 offer some insight into other reasons why Beck says he wants them. According to a memo signed by the LAPD chief, they can be used for "locating critical missing and kidnapped victims, and also assist detectives in the expeditious arrest of wanted suspects."
Beck further claimed that the technology "has saved numerous lives."
No Los Angeles elected official contacted for this story would comment on the StingRay technology being used within the city they represent.
A spokesman for City Councilman Paul Koretz said he wasn't familiar enough with the issue to weigh in — a sentiment echoed by press staff for City Councilman Bernard Parks (former LAPD chief of police) and City Councilman Paul Krekorian — who sits on the influential Public Safety Committee, which helps determine LAPD budgets and key law enforcement policies.
Two other members of the Public Safety Committee — council members Jan Perry and Dennis Zine, a former police officer — did not return messages left with their staff. Nor did Councilman Richard Alarcon.
Officials working under City Attorney Carmen Trutanich directed the Weekly's calls back to the police department.
Richard Tefank, executive director of the Los Angeles Police Commission, a group of powerful political appointees who delve into major issues such as police wrongdoing and have a say in many of the department's most important policies, said specific policies — such as those governing the use of StingRay in L.A. — are the responsibility of LAPD, not the commission.
The fundamental question of how much data is retained by police is another that LAPD declined to address.
As things stand, no Los Angeles resident — except those targeted by police and then prosecuted using StingRay evidence — will ever know if LAPD has rerouted their cellphone data through its system, potentially archiving their personal information along the way.
Because the StingRay usually grabs the signal of any phone nearby, good guys and bad guys alike could end up as unwitting subscribers to "LAPD Mobile."
On the bright side, they don't require a contract.
Reach the writer at 2joncampbell@gmail.com.
