TL;DR: The Columbine Valley police in Colorado, US, used Flock cameras to wrongfully accuse a woman (Chrisanna Elser) of stealing a $25 package from a doorstep in the neighboring town of Bow Mar. She had to prove her own innocence by collecting evidence, from apps on her phone to dashcam footage in her vehicle, to prove her whereabouts.
I found out about this story through Louis Rossmann:
This woman was essentially considered guilty until proven innocent. The police officer refused to show her the alleged evidence that identifies her as the thief, and told her that this case was a lock. He said to her:
âYou know we have cameras in that town. You canât get a breath of fresh air in or out of that place without us knowing,â
What is insane to me is not just that Chrisanna Elser was wrongfully accused, but that she had to use surveillance to prove her innocence. I hate that this is part of the surveillance economy. Instead of passing policies to actually create a safer world, we are sold all these surveillance tools to protect ourselves. Surveillance Capitalism wins either way.
Chrisanna Elser works in finance. If she had been arrested and later proved her innocence, it could have ruined her career because it would be a blemish on her reputation. What we are essentially learning is that if you donât surveil yourself, you may find yourself in trouble because you wonât be able to prove your innocence. Iâm appalled!
Oh, and by the way, the police never apologized. They just congratulated her for doing the detective work. We have to fight this!
If you want to learn more about automated license plate readers (ALPRs), I recommend the links below:
The golden rule of communicating with law enforcement: Shut the fuck up and lawyer up! Never speak with them, only listen and ask if they are going to be arrested.
Any good lawyer will give you the same advise. And begin atleast audio recording as soon as law enforcement shows up. And learn of your rights, federal, state, and local.
Really, still? Iâm no longer. Seems to be on brand for the fascist favoring uneducated law enforcement officers, especially in the US.
That can be terrifying. Especially if you are not used to encounters with the police and/or if you are a minority. If I was on holiday in the US and I was being stopped by the police, I would be absolutely terrified, even if I know Iâm innocent. And even if you know your rights, some police officers may not care because they have the authority.
Unfortunately, I donât think I will ever stop being shocked at some of these stories. If someone tells me in advance that they are going to punch me in the face, making me expect it, I will still hurt when it happens. Thatâs how I see it. Or to put it another way, I know bigotry exists, and yet, when I see someone use slurs to hurt and put down others, I am still shocked.
It would be every travelers responsibility to know where they are going and what the dangers are of any place they travel. This is mostly on the person to be aware and mindful. Follow basic safety steps and donât do or be where you shouldnât as a tourist.
When the situation escalates and if they take you in, they will have no right but to comply with the law even if they are being a bully or an authority in the moment when speaking with you. They do that to get you to âconfessâ anything. Donât. Thatâs why I say shut the fuck up so you donât say anything you should not be saying even if it is to say you are innocent. Like I said, a good lawyer will tell you the same. Never engage with them in conversation.
And as of right now, you should not be traveling to the US because it is a very hostile place for all, not just tourists.
Thick skin my friend. Develop it. Knowing your rights is a powerful thing. Stick with you being on the right and not get scared easily. There are tough times - the fittest survive.
Itâs not as simple as that. I wouldnât travel to the US right now, but itâs not like itâs the only country where police officers abuse their power.
In countries like Canada and the UK, people donât get randomly checked for ID when they are just walking the street and going about their way. However, in places like France, itâs extremely common. And of course, minorities get profiled.
It is not illegal to be walking in the street without ID in France. And yet, the police can decide to arrest you if you donât have ID. Shutting up in this kind of situation might not actually help. Moreover, imagine you are a tourist in France, or maybe you are an exchange student, and will only be there for six months. Even if you are aware that police check ID frequently, it would be extremely risky for you to carry your passport at all the times with you.
Your passport contains the proof that you are legally in the country, but if someone robs you, you are screwed. Hence, it would be totally understandable for you to want to leave your passport in a safe at your hotel, or wherever you are staying at. I have a Korean friend who got her passport stolen while she was holiday in Europe. Imagine if she had been stopped by the police a day after the theft?
And even if you decide to keep a photocopy of your ID and Visa on you at all times, the police might not be satisfied with it and still arrest you and bring you into custody until someone brings your actual passport to them.
Well, this is a US centric news you shared. So I was commenting accordingly. If we begin talking about the world, there is no end of whatâs what and how or why with anything as it would be hard to determine if any examples we give are the norm or just the exceptions skewing our assessment of whatâs happening at what frequency.
Based on what youâre saying, I feel, it seems like nowhere is safe. That pretty much ends the conversation for any mitigation or solutions we may want to come up with.
I donât live in the US, but still shared this story for reason. Because ALPRs are either being adopted or considered in other countries, and hence this story is relevant to everyone. Weâre all connected.
If the woman this happened to had not said anything and just hired a lawyer and just let justice run its course, she could have still lost her job, even if she eventually proved her innocence, because there would be a record of her ordeal in the system. Instead, she went out of the way to send various people in the police department, including the chief, proof that she was innocent.
Also, suppose she had no recordings of her whereabouts? She could have still gotten arrested and been put through the system, even if she is declared not guilty later.
I think if it werenât ALPR, then it would be something else. Because bullying by law enforcement does not stop. Theyâll just use another instrument. The issue is larger than ALPRs because itâs just a medium in this case. Donât you think?
But again, what more can you do other than document everything yourself as and when you see fit and follow advise of a lawyer you hire in advance to learn of your rights better and after if you get arrested on bullshit charges.
Furthermore, reputation and loss of jobs are possibilities but not a certainty. Letâs not speculate on what has not happened, albeit it is good to be mindful of the issues such problems can cause. Again, I feel the issue is systemic and will always be the nature of the situation where there is only so much you can do yourself in the moment and after when standing up to authority no matter how much in the right you are.
This is one of the most disturbing videos I have ever seen. Hereâs one thing to consider. It is now so easy to create a realistic looking deepfake video. Weâve all seen a very convincing video showing Open AI/Chat GPT founder Sam Altman shoplifting from Target. Iâm hopeful that realistic fake videos will become so mainstream that surveillance videos of crimes will no longer be accepted by courts as valid evidence.