What happens if you find a police surveillance device attached to your car? Attorney Andrew Flusche reviews four cases and offers advice on what you should do.
In 2010, Yasir Aifi discovered a GPS tracking device under his car during a mechanic visit, which Reddit users identified as a Guardian ST820 unit after his friend posted a photo online. A few days after the post went viral, FBI agents showed up at Aifi's house demanding their device back, revealing they were tracking him because a friend had made concerning comments online about potential violence. Aifi attempted to fight back by suing the FBI and Department of Justice, but his case was dismissed by the courts.
In United States v. Jones (2012), police attached a GPS tracker to Jones's Jeep and monitored his movements for a month without obtaining a search warrant or notifying him. The government argued there was no reasonable expectation of privacy on public roads, but the Supreme Court ruled in Jones's favor, declaring that physically attaching a GPS tracker to a vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment and therefore requires a warrant.
When Tiara Beverly saw Louisiana State Police placing a tracking device on her car, she later removed it and attached it to a pole near a park, after which she contacted the NAACP for assistance. The Louisiana State Police requested the return of their tracking device upon discovering what she had done. Unlike other GPS tracker cases that led to legal complications, Beverly's situation concluded simply with the police's request for the tracker's return.
In 2019, Derek Hearing found an unmarked tracking device on his car, removed it, and stored it in his house without publicizing his discovery. When the tracker went silent, police used this as probable cause to obtain a search warrant, claiming Hearing must have stolen their device, and during the subsequent raid, they found both their tracker and methamphetamine. The case went to the Indiana Supreme Court, which ruled that removing a tracker from one's own car did not constitute theft or probable cause for a warrant, leading to the suppression of all evidence from the illegal search.
So, what does Flusche recommend you do if you find a GPS tracker on your vehicle? "I sadly think that your rights against a GPS tracking device may depend upon your location," he says. "But, as for me, if I find one on my car here in Virginia, it may just happen to fall off a bridge while I drive over it, or maybe I'll have to get out my beaten up hammer."
Previously:
• Man discovers GPS tracker hidden in his car, sues dealer
• Sand thieves and unreliable GPS near the Port of Shanghai