ANAHEIM – The Anaheim Police Department obtains court approval – in most cases – before using cellphone surveillance equipment known as StingRays, contrary to allegations in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, Police Chief Raul Quezada said Friday.

The only times a court order isn’t immediately obtained, Quezada said, are “an exigent circumstance” like a kidnapping, when officers are looking for a missing child, or police find “evidence of a criminal act that could lead to imminent death or infliction of serious bodily injury.” Officers will seek the court order after the perceived danger subsides, Quezada said.

“Through a community partnership built on trust and confidence, the Anaheim Police Department is committed to delivering the highest level of public safety service to the residents, visitors and business owners throughout Anaheim,” Quezada wrote in a “community letter” issued to reporters and posted on the department’s social media sites.

“This equipment enhances our ability to deliver that service,” Quezada wrote. “And measures are in place to ensure its use is appropriate, measured and in accordance with the law.”

The ACLU lawsuit filed last week alleges the Anaheim Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department refused to hand over funding requests, data-sharing policies, judicial authorizations or contracts they had made with the manufacturers of StingRays, which are capable of intercepting phone calls and text messages.

The ACLU also raised privacy concerns about the devices, which enable police officers to track a suspect’s cellphone while also picking up calls and text messages transmitted from other cellphones within a “significant range.”

Quezada said his department and federal agencies do not keep any outside information encountered when targeting a suspect’s cellphone.

“The chief’s letter provides some useful information, but it’s too bad that the department didn’t comply with our public records request and forced us to file litigation,” said Peter Bibring, director of police practices for ACLU of California.

“This does not, in any way, resolve the lawsuit,” Bibring said. “The public is entitled to see the documents, rather than accept the characterizations of the chief.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com