Advertisement ACLU alleges police use of Stringray violates 4th Amendment Stringray used to pinpoint suspect's location Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking the Baltimore City Police Department to task for its "warrantless and deceptive use of cellphone surveillance devices."Mobile users tap here to watch videoLocal law enforcement is using methods to pinpoint a suspect's location straight out of a spy agency's playbook. It's a cutting edge crime-fighting tool whose trade name is Stingray, which is made by the Harris Corp.The ACLU calls the practice the invasion of the data snatchers. The problem is, according to the ACLU, Stingray scoops up the personal information contained in the cellphones of everyone in their range.The ACLU filed a friend of the court brief, alleging the Baltimore City police misled a judge so they could use Stingray. The complaint claims the device violated the Fourth Amendment right of a suspect and allowed police to obtain personal information from other people's phones.The device impersonates cellphone towers, prompting all phones within its range to connect to it, picking up everyone's information, not just the suspect's personal information. There's concern it's being used unlawfully and the data kept in a file."The (information includes the) identifier of the phone, all of the calls and texts sent to and from the phone and they have the capability of intercepting communications," said David Rocah, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland.Baltimore City police declined to comment, but the city Board of Estimates records indicate city police spent more than $250,000 on the technology.According to Board of Estimates records and ACLU legal briefs, on Feb. 4, 2009, the city award $132,000 to Harris Corp. for its cellphone-tracking system. On June 9, 2010, the Board of Estimates gave $30,000 to Harris Corp. for a cellphone-tracking system extended warranty. On Jan. 23, 2013, the city paid $99,786 to Harris Corp. for a hailstorm cellphone tracker upgrade.But it wasn't until a criminal case made it an evidentiary issue that the public learned how police used Stingray without a warrant. Police said they wanted what's called a pen register order to see what calls were going in and out from a suspect's phone."They were using this device to precisely geolocate the phone in a particular house, but they never said to the judge that's what they were doing," Rocah said. "The Baltimore City police and state's attorney were willing to put secrecy above public safety. That's frankly insane."Police across the country are now using Stingray. The Supreme Court has ruled it can't be employed without a warrant, and as of October, state law also requires a warrant to use it."I think the privacy issues are clear. I think the need for a warrant is clear, and I think a warrant in of itself is not sufficient unless we know what kind of minimization the agency will do with the information, and the fact the city police won't discuss that is extraordinarily troubling," Rocah said.Anne Arundel County police said they use the technology in a responsible and lawful way to find missing persons and wanted felons. Montgomery County police would not confirm they have it but budget documents indicate they spent $180,000 to upgrade their Stingray system. Other local police departments did not respond to the 11 News I-Team's inquiry.