Los Angeles Police Department chief Charlie Beck reportedly sent a letter to the search giant, asking for the police-reporting feature to be disabled so it cannot be used by potential cop killers.
Beck claims the service can be “misused by those with criminal intent to endanger police officers and the community,” according to excerpts published by the AP.
The app is primarily used by drivers to avoid construction and congestion caused by accidents, though it also allows users to flag police locations. The police tags can either be listed as ‘visible’ or ‘hidden,’ helping other drivers avoid speed traps.
Beck suggests Waze was instrumental in enabling alleged cop killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley to hunt down two NYPD officers, who were shot and killed late last year in their patrol vehicle.
“I am confident your company did not intend the Waze app to be a means to allow those who wish to commit crimes to use the unwitting Waze community as their lookouts for the location of police officers,” he wrote in the letter to Google.
Requiring a third-party service to help find police officers in New York City likely seems absurd to anyone who has visited the city, which is home to nearly 35,000 officers with a jurisdiction of less than 500 square miles. In fact, investigators claim Brinsley dropped his cellphone more than two miles away from where he allegedly shot the victims.
Google spokeswoman Julie Mossler responded to the controversy by arguing that the Waze’s user-to-user communications “help keep citizens safe, promote faster emergency response and help alleviate traffic congestion.”
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