The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing the NYPD for information because of privacy concerns over portable cell phone tracking devices called “Stingrays.”
In response to a previous request the NYPD has already said that cops have used Stingrays over 1,000 times since 2008 for investigations into robberies, drug cases and other legal matters.
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, says the NYPD has no written policy governing the use of the “controversial, military grade technology” that has the “potential to implicate the privacy of countless innocent New Yorkers.” NYCLU won a similar suit against the Erie County Sheriff’s Office last year.
NYPD and city Law Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but police records have shown that the devices have put scores of murderers, rapists and other violent criminals behind bars.
The NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs Larry Byrne has also said that the devices do not pick up information from the cell phones of innocent bystanders.