The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing Tucson police with hiding the use of a technology that allows officers to track the cellphones of people, whether they’re suspected of a crime or not.
The ACLU is asking the Court of Appeals to force the city to hand over material about how the technology is used after a trial judge refused to do so.
Attorney Darrell Hill said the public has a right to the information.
“It's critical information for people to know if they private thoughts, their private communications are somehow in the hands of a government official,” Hill said.
The city of Tucson has admitted using the device at least five times, each time without getting a search warrant. It’s fighting the release of the information, saying it is not in the "best interest of the state" to let criminals know the tactics it, along with other federal, state and other local agencies, use.
Hill said what’s in the interest of the state is not limited to what’s in the interest of the police.