The Thursday lawsuit comes nine months after Washington imposed a new warrant requirement for stingray use in the state and about 15 months after local Pierce County judges imposed stricter guidelines for their use.
Stingrays are in use by both local and federal law enforcement agencies nationwide. The devices determine a target phone’s location by spoofing or simulating a cell tower. Mobile phones in range of the stingray then connect to it and exchange data with the device as they would with a real cell tower. Once deployed, stingrays intercept data from the target phone along with information from other phones within the vicinity—up to and including full calls and text messages. At times, police have falsely claimed that information gathered from a stingray has instead come from a confidential informant.
"Stingray devices provide police departments with an unprecedented ability to sweep up information from cellular devices. It affects many others in the neighborhood along with the targets of an investigation," La Rond Baker, an ACLU Washington attorney, said in a statement. "The Constitution protects Americans against searches without suspicion, and we are very concerned about the secrecy concerning the [Tacoma Police Department’s] use of its stingray."The four Tacoma men include two pastors, a church elder, and a longtime resident who was also a former City Council candidate. The Tacoma Police Department did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
In another related suit last month, a Cook County, Illinois, judge ruled in favor of a plaintiff who sued the Chicago Police Department over similar stingray records.
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