LANSING -- Michigan State Police officials testified Tuesday before a House oversight committee about the use of handheld devices that can access phone numbers and other data from cell phones. State Representative Tom McMillan of Rochester Hills, chairman of the House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee, said that although there is no assumption of wrongdoing by state police, it is necessary to investigate the issue and make sure that citizen's rights are protected.
The ACLU of Michigan says downloads of phone numbers or other information stored in mobile phones taken during traffic stops violates 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. For nearly three years the ACLU has filed Freedom of Information requests to get more information about the state police's use of the devices.
