Dennis RomeroRemember the good old days when you'd watch Cops and the bad guys would be leading officers on a chase and dumping bags of white powder out the window and at some point you'd be at the edge of your seat rooting for them? Just a little?
Well stop. That game is over.
Even suspects with a good arm are going to see those baggies come back to them thanks to new technology being used by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department:
Last month deputies got “battlefield” tech, including in-car laptops, that let them “geo-tag” locations during a car chase. So every time a baggy gets thrown, a button gets pushed, and deputies can go back later and retrieve evidence.
Geo-tag team.; Credit: LASD
Scary, right?
Well, sheriff's officials say it works. One week ago, at 11 a.m. on Friday morning, deputies on patrol in near 20th Street East and East Avenue J-8 in Lancaster saw an allegedly reckless driver and went after him. The suspect tore open bags and threw stuff out the window, they allege.
The pursuit went on for five miles as the suspect blasted through stop signs and red lights, they said.
According to a statement:
… Deputies were able to “Geo-tag” and map the location where the evidence was being thrown from the car. They pursued the suspect and later caught him. The drugs were easily found by assisting deputies thanks to the new Geo-tag technology. Tests revealed Wednesday that the substance thrown from the car was methamphetamines.
Not just busted. Cyber-busted.
The suspect was named this week as 35-year-old Mohammed Kadri, who was booked on suspicion of evading cops and on drug allegations.
Captain Scott Edson:
Without Geo-tagging, when deputies are engaged in the tough job of a pursuit, they have to explain over the radio to assisting deputies the approximate location where they can find tossed evidence. Often, the description narrows the area to about 1/8 of mile but it might take a search party to find it. Now with Geo-tagging, a deputy with the in-car Geo-tagged map goes right to the pin-pointed spot.
Criminals always seem to find a way to stay one step ahead of the man, however. Maybe unmanned drones are the new frontier for drug deliveries?
Nah, too complicated for these douches.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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