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  • Report:  #1491149

Complaint Review: Waurika Police Department and Jefferson County Sherriff's Office - Waurika Oklahoma

Reported By:
Don - Waurika, Oklahoma, United States
Submitted:
Updated:

Waurika Police Department and Jefferson County Sherriff's Office
122 S. Main Waurika, 73573 Oklahoma, United States
Phone:
580-228- 2713
Web:
254 58th Street
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For the past 12 years both the Waurika Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Waurika Oklahoma have engaged in warrantless spying and eavesdropping on innocent citizens. I worked for the city of Waurika for 6 years and can tell you that the things they are doing are in my opinion very unconstitutional.

In addition to installing license plate readers on roadways, and atop stoplights and street lamps in Waurika, they also have Stingrays. For those of you who aren't familiar with that term, a Stingray is a cell site simulator device. It masquerades as a cell phone tower forcing all nearby cell phones to connect to it.

It's usually mounted in a law enforcement vehicle but it can also be mounted on undercover vans, semi-trucks, pickup trucks, cars etc. It is usually coupled with an antenna. Police can use the stingray to determine where a mobile phone is in real time. Phones also stream data to the device including the phone and identification number of the phone, which can be used to collect information such as past phone calls, numbers dialed, text messages sent, and even internet sites visited.

The cost of a stingray is around $130,000 to $400,000. Waurika has 4 Stingray devices that I'm aware of. Now why would a town with a population of only 2000 people require 4 Stingray cell site simulators? Are there really that many dangerous people living in Waurika? Really? Another type of equipment that they use is Range R. It looks like a high tech stud finder but it pinpoints people.

The radar device uses radio waves to see through walls to locate people inside a structure. It can pick up on movements as slight as human breathing. It can detect the location of a person up to 50 feet away. The device was devised for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but it is now being used by police departments all over the United States.

The device costs around $6,000. For both the Stingray and Range R a warrant is not necessary. They can be used anytime for any reason and many privacy advocates argue that it is an invasion of privacy to use these types of devices on innocent law abiding citizens. However, police departments and law enforcement officers argue that it is necessary to prevent crime.

Again the population of Waurika is 2,000 people. Why do you need these devices? It is a concern I have raised many times in the past but it has fallen on deaf ears and those who have selective hearing refuse to listen. Another type of technology that is being used and abused is drones. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles. They come in many sizes and can be self guided or controlled remotely by humans.

Predator B drones are used by the military but are also used by law enforcement. Predator B drones have a wingspan of about 65 feet. Other drones that are currently being used can be outfitted with a variety of gadgets from cameras to surveillance technology. Some can also be outfitted with laser weapons as well as other types of weapons. Again, why do we have this type of technology in Waurika?

I've also heard that the Duncan Police Department also has this type of technology as well as Stingray cell site simulators. Privacy advocates are calling for clear regulations to protect privacy over private residential areas. If drones are used for surveillance, a warrant should be required and it should have a statute of limitations. Civil rights organizations have also argued that images taken by drones shouldn't be stored unless they pertain to an ongoing investigation. 

Facial recognition software analyzes aspects of a person's face like space between someone's eyes, or how long a person's nose is and creates a template. That template is then compared to a database of photographs which could include images from surveillance video or mug shots to identify a person. In 2018, the FBI launched the Next Generation Identification System which will house more than 50 million photographs that law enforcement can access to verify someone's identity.

Several Civil Rights groups and organizations argue racial recognition software doesn't work. The system can be fooled by facial hair, weight loss, aging, or plastic surgery. The Electric Frontier Foundation has sued the government for manipulating information and argued that the software is among the most alarming technological developments because people cannot easily take precautions against covert and mass capturing of their images. And yes this technology is being used in the small town of Waurika.

I mentioned license plate readers in the beginning of this complaint and I want to expand on that. A license plate reader scans a vehicle's license plate and stores the plate number, the date, time, and GPS location from when it was photographed. Data can be used for days, months or even years.

Scanned license plate numbers can be checked in addition with a list of vehicles that are stolen or wanted by police. If your tag number matches any part of a tag of a stolen vehicle, the police now have probable cause to search your vehicle. Innocent until proven guilty? Not in Waurika folks.

I am also assuming this is the way it is in many small towns in Oklahoma and Texas. The reason for this complaint is because I now realize that there are a few innocent people in which unbeknownst to them are being tracked and watched via the technology that I mentioned above. 



7 Updates & Rebuttals

Don

Duncan, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma,
United States
This is what happens when you expose corrupt police officers.

#2Author of original report

Wed, February 05, 2020

 They cry like the babies they are!! What's the matter Chris? Can't handle the fact that someone knows about your abilities to wire tap and eavesdrop on people? I bet you get a kick out of listening to phone calls about sex don't you? How often do you listen to your neighbor's phone calls? Do you really wanna play this game?

Why don't you tell the public about what happened between you and one of your neighbors about a year ago? Did you set that up Chris? If your neighbor was guilty of that incident, why is he now a free man? Or how about when you threw his wife on the ground and caused her nose to bleed? Wow! You're a real hero!

I'm sure everybody in Waurika thinks you're a real hero! What about when you threw another man on the ground and claimed he attacked you? And you did it front of his wife and kids on Christmas Day!! Yeah that's being a real hero! I'm sure everybody in Waurika will remember your heroic deeds 100 years from now!!

I'm sure everyone in Waurika all approve of the fact that you're sitting on your butt in your patrol unit listening to other people's phone conversations about sex!! But you obviously don't have anything to worry about because you have qualified immunity and can get away with anything! You also have other cops who back up your dirty deeds and do them with you!!


Chris B.

Waurika,
Oklahoma,
United States
Don's still upset about what happened in 2018

#3UPDATE Employee

Tue, February 04, 2020

Adam, don't be too hard on Don. He had a run in with law enforcement in 2018. He's still pissed off about it. Apparently he hates it when law enforcement walks on his property. Ain't that right Don? Hell, don't be shy about it. Tell everybody what happened. There's no reason to be shy about it. It's better to get these things off your chest.


Adam

Little Rock,
Arkansas,
United States
Thank You

#4Consumer Comment

Tue, February 04, 2020

Looks like we are in for another round of trolls who think they are funny, trying to get some glory from their friends who are hold up in some basement in their mama's house.

Thank you Wendy AKA Don AKA several other aliases, as it is slips like that that confirm your true intent. If you are going to have one of your aliases post a link to a hack-a-thon at least have the decency to admit it.

But on the off chance you are being truthful, perhaps it is time to start to listen to those people at Delbert's Supermarket. If not, I know a person down in Arkansas and a few in Bizmark or Oregon that you could talk to as well.


Jim

Anaheim,
California,
United States
Nobody Cares What the ACLU Says

#5Consumer Comment

Sun, February 02, 2020

It only matters what the law says and both the courts and the law says that Stingrays, drones, etc....are all legal.  You cannot be so stupid as to believe everything the ACLU has to say.  It's time for you to go away.

PS:  You are not a whistleblower.  You are a moron.


Chris B.

Waurika,
Oklahoma,
United States
You better watch yourself!

#6UPDATE Employee

Sun, February 02, 2020

 I question anyone who questions the authority and power of a law enforcement officer! You obviously have no clue what you're talking about! Our Stingrays have been approved for use by a sitting judge. Our Stingrays have helped catch many dangerous people living in the Waurika area!

One example of a dangerous person that we have been watching since 2008 lives southeast of Waurika! He proclaimed himself as a sovereign citizen back in 2011 and we have been watching him ever since! Sovereign citizens are total scum! They have been known to cause a lot of problems for people! Our Stingrays have been following and watching this individual since 2008. He is a very dangerous individual capable of anything!

To save lives anyone that individual comes in contact with, we notify them after he talks to them on his Smart phone. We give that individual a call back after he calls them, or texts them and we let them know the situation. This is not violating anybody's rights. We are trying to save people's lives. We have isolated this individual and have cut off as much of his social life as possible.

When he comes into town our units are ready! We know when he comes into town and where he goes because our Stingrays send us an alert! Now how would we accomplish these tasks without our stingrays? His neighbors tell us when he leaves his house and when he comes home, but our stingray drones are capable of following him where-ever he goes.

Without the stingrays it would be tough to know where he goes at all times of the day. Thanks to the stingray technology we've also caught other dangerous criminals who buy and sell drugs. We've caught several pedophiles who downloaded many nude pictures of teenage boys and girls and we wouldn't have without the stingrays! So you're wrong about the stingrays, and the other technology.

We don't use this technology on innocent people. Innocent people have nothing to hide and the only people who have a problem with the technology of law enforcement personnel are those who do have something to hide!


Don D.

Waurika, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma,
United States
ACLU finds the use of Stingray drones unconstitutional

#7Author of original report

Sun, February 02, 2020

   If I'm an idiot then so are many other Americans who agree the use of stingrays to collect information from innocent Americans is unconstitutional as well as the ACLU. This is a quote from the ACLU. "Because stingrays are indiscriminate, highly intrusive devices that obtain information from all nearby third parties on the same cellular network, and not just the target of an investigation, there is a serious question whether they can ever be used consistent with the Fourth Amendment.”

Stingrays turn cell phones into homing devices which show your location. They also capture, text messages sent or received, the numbers you've dialed, and internet sites that have been visited on Smart phones. A stingray drone acts like a cell tower decoy and tricks cell phones into thinking it's the nearest cell tower. Phones connect to the stingray or drone and police can access a range of personal information.

They can also make arrests if the cell phone information matches an ongoing criminal investigation. Even if the owner of the cell phone is innocent, and has never committed a crime, he or she may be in the same area in which a stingray drone is being used and the police may question them because they happen to be in the same area as the real criminal. This is why they violate civil rights!

They violate the Fourth Amendment which gives protection for illegal searches and seizures! Please don't call names! That is childish and unprofessional for a police officer.


Jim

Anaheim,
United States
Wrong....

#8Consumer Comment

Sun, February 02, 2020

The ability to utilize a stingray without obtaining a warrant has been consistently found in courts to not violate an individual's civil rights.  Accordingly, your opinion is not only wrong but irrelevant.  The reason you get multiple units is to make sure there is consistent overlap throughout the municipal area. 

License plate readers, facial recognition software, drones, and the like have also been found by courts not to violate anyone's civil rights.  No one is harmed by the existence of these devices and their use by law enforcement.

The reason no one is listening to you is because you are an idiot.  It's time for you to go away.

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