Sĩ quan cảnh sát ở Minneapolis bị buộc tội theo dõi đồng nghiệp bằng Apple AirTag: Công tố viên
Gordon L. Blackey, 59 tuổi, từ St. Anthony bị buộc tội vào Thứ Tư với một cáo buộc làm phiền, một cáo buộc sử dụng không phép thiết bị theo dõi, và hai cáo buộc tiếp cận không công khai dữ liệu.
Hashtag: #MinneapolisCopStalkedCoworker #AppleAirTag #Prosecutors
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis police sergeant is accused of stalking a fellow officer using an Apple AirTag and illegally accessing her private data.
Gordon L. Blackey, 59, of St. Anthony was charged Wednesday with one count of harassment, one count of unauthorized use of a tracking device, and two counts of unauthorized acquisition of nonpublic data.
The harassment charge carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in prison and a $3,000 fine.
On March 18, a sergeant with a Minnesota Police Department discovered an Apple AirTag device affixed to her vehicle.
After leaving her home in Ham Lake, she was alerted to the presence of the AirTag by a notification on her daughter’s iPhone.
The iPhone indicated that an unknown AirTag was nearby and actively tracking their movements.
After searching the vehicle for several hours, she found the AirTag in the wheel well.
The AirTag’s serial number was linked to a phone number that she recognized as belonging to Blackey.
The woman confronted Blackey the following day, and he admitted to placing the AirTag on her vehicle.
Blackey said he did so because he “cared about her” and mentioned that he had engaged in similar behavior with other friends, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman expressed discomfort and told Blackey she no longer wanted to be around him.
On April 30, Blackey invited her out for a drink, which she declined.
Later that evening, while at a restaurant in Blaine, the woman unexpectedly noticed Blackey sitting inside the restaurant, according to the criminal complaint.
Although Blackey was “friendly,” the woman became concerned that he may have been tracking her whereabouts without her knowledge, according to prosecutors.
Her suspicions grew when she remembered other times when Blackey had appeared at events unannounced or revealed intimate knowledge about the details of her life.
On May 7, she reported these incidents to her local police department and contacted the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, requesting an investigation into Blackey’s conduct and possible criminal charges for harassment and stalking.
The investigation of Blackey’s Apple iCloud account revealed photos taken on March 4 of a computer screen displaying private driver’s license information.
This information appeared to have been obtained from a state database accessible to police officers, according to authorities.
The private driver’s license data was related to the woman’s father and a coworker, investigators said.
Records confirmed that Blackey had accessed the BCA database to obtain the private information despite having no legitimate law enforcement purpose for doing so, prosecutors said.
In a police interview, Blackey admitted to having placed the AirTag on the woman’s vehicle while it was parked at her home in Ham Lake, according to the criminal complaint.
He explained how he placed the tracker into the wheel well of her car and tracked her vehicle’s location on several occasions. Blackey also admitted to using his access as a police officer to obtain private information.
During a follow-up interview on July 19, the woman detailed the emotional distress caused by Blackey’s stalking, reporting anxiety, trouble sleeping, and issues with her work performance.
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