App challenged: cops fight back.

• Author: Pagels, Jim
• Position: Citings - Using Waze application to track traffic and police - Brief article

Waze is a popular real-time traffic-reporting application from Google that relies on drivers to self-report traffic, accidents, red light cameras, and police. It will soon lose that last feature if some cops get their way.

Police officials from around the country want Waze's cop-tracking feature shut off, saying it endangers the lives of officers. In December, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck wrote a letter to Google saying the app had been used in the slaying of two NYPD officers, though that claim has not been corroborated. His feelings were echoed by Mike Brown, the sheriff of Bedford County, Virginia, who called Waze a "police stalker" app and threatened litigation. These arguments may be difficult to sustain in court. Judges have frequently protected the rights...