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Utah placed limits on police use of spy tech; Do they go far enough?  

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Utah placed limits on police use of spy tech; Do they go far enough?  


For months, the KSL Investigators have been asking questions on spy know-how legislation enforcement makes use of however doesn’t need to speak about. What precisely does the high-tech software do, and what occurs to your data if it will get caught up in a digital dragnet?

SALT LAKE CITY – Per week after College of Utah soccer participant Aaron Lowe was shot and killed outdoors a Salt Lake occasion final September, Salt Lake Metropolis police have been nonetheless trying to find their murder suspect and nonetheless arising brief.  

They turned to a strong, secretive backup software: spy tech that picks up cell alerts, permitting them to pinpoint an individual’s real-time location and doubtlessly snoop on calls and texts.  

It’s known as a cell website simulator – usually referred to by the model title StingRay. The transportable gadget mimics a cell tower, forcing telephones to attach and share information. Hours after a decide signed a warrant permitting police to fireplace up the software, authorities discovered and arrested Buk Mawat Buk, court docket data present.

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They received’t say how they discovered Buk in Draper final October, and even affirm they used the software. However KSL Investigators discovered traces of their efforts to make use of the surveillance technique in unsealed search warrants.   

The delicate units can solid a large web, sweeping up cellphone chatter and information from anybody close by, not simply the particular person police are on the lookout for. However whether or not they can see you scroll, sort and faucet in apps continues to be a secret – and that’s by design. With the intention to make use of it, some departments have signed nondisclosure agreements managed by the FBI. 

Privateness advocates proceed to lift alarms about how legislation enforcers use the stealth-technology – and what occurs to any unrelated data from different telephones caught within the dragnet.

 

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Nate Wessler, a deputy venture director with the American Civil Liberties Union, says there’s no method to know if a StingRay has gathered your data. (KSL TV)

“Police aren’t allowed to knock down each door in a neighborhood, on the lookout for a specific suspect,” Nate Wessler with the American Civil Liberties Union mentioned. “This know-how is the digital equal of that in vital methods.” 

However no glass shatters and no wooden splinters when police intrude on an individual’s digital privateness, so it’s unattainable to know if it’s occurred to you, mentioned Wessler, a deputy venture director targeted on speech, privateness, and know-how on the ACLU.    

Privateness v. public security 

Utah was one of many first states to rein in police entry to cellphone information with a 2014 legislation. The change required them to acquire warrants first, like they might to enter a house, and notify the goal of the warrant after the very fact. The state went a step additional than others on the time, barring police from utilizing data or information from anybody not named within the warrant and requiring them to delete the unrelated information.  

Critics say it’s nonetheless too straightforward for authorities to make use of the software in secret with out first acquiring permission from a decide. However law enforcers in Utah insist they’re taking part in by the principles of their investigations.  

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In the event that they didn’t, the implications could possibly be monumental, Nick Chournos, Utah’s supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal mentioned.  

“We don’t need to sidestep one thing and do issues the unsuitable manner. That provides lawmakers the ammo they should say, ‘You realize what? They’re abusing this authority,’ and take it from us,” Chournos mentioned. “If we’re not accredited to do one thing, then we don’t do it. We don’t use it.” 

Nick Chournos, Utah’s supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal, talks about working with Utah’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Staff, or VFAST, in Might 2022. (Ken Fall/KSL TV)

The units can value tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} – too dear for many native police departments.  

As a substitute, Utah companies generally work with federal legislation enforcers just like the Marshals. That’s the strategy Salt Lake Metropolis police took to seek out Buk in October, court docket data present.   

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KSL Investigators surveyed greater than 40 legislation enforcement companies in Utah in regards to the instruments. Of people who responded, sheriffs’ workplaces in Utah County and Davis County confirmed the gadget has performed a task of their investigations. We requested each division for copies of their insurance policies governing the usage of the know-how. Only one – Salt Lake Metropolis police – despatched us a doc, but it surely doesn’t point out cell website simulators or easy methods to deal with information from different events.  

Salt Lake Metropolis police spokesman Brent Weisberg mentioned the division makes use of this form of know-how in uncommon circumstances and in collaboration with an out of doors agency, however solely with correct approval.  

Whereas they received’t discuss in regards to the particulars, the KSL investigators discovered greater than a dozen search warrants requested within the final two years by Marshals stepping in to assist native groups monitor down Utahns flying below the radar.  

They embrace a wide range of circumstances, most of a critical nature, like an alleged heroin trafficker who disappeared in 2020. However one pertained to a girl with no violent offenses, accused of shoplifting and making an attempt to get away from police, in line with court docket data.  

Wessler mentioned it’s frequent for police throughout the nation to interrupt out the instruments even in low-level circumstances. In Maryland, Annapolis police obtained a court docket order to use the tools to seek out whoever stole rooster wings and sub sandwiches from a supply driver, Capital Information Service reported.

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A cell tower is pictured in Salt Lake Metropolis in June 2022. (Meghan Thackrey/KSL TV)

Salt Lake Metropolis police famous the investigative approach just lately helped them arrest a murder suspect. And the Davis County Sheriff’s workplace acknowledged the know-how has helped them resolve intercourse crimes, discover lacking youngsters and seize these wished in reference to violent crimes. However neither company went into specifics. 

Regulation enforcers say speaking in regards to the know-how may backfire.  

In Salt Lake Metropolis, a spokeswoman for the FBI mentioned the company respects privateness and civil liberties however declined to speak in regards to the gadget. Doing so, she mentioned, “would make public delicate legislation enforcement instruments and methods, that might facilitate terrorists, kidnappers, fugitives, drug smugglers, and different criminals to find out our capabilities and limitations on this space and will allow them to evade detection.” 

Chournos agreed. He mentioned his crew isn’t inquisitive about bulk surveillance.   

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“We’re making an attempt to search out fugitives. That’s the particular person we’re on the lookout for and the data we would like,” he mentioned. “And that’s the data we retain.”  

However there are different advantages to the secrecy, mentioned Wessler, whose group is suing the FBI to seek out any present confidentiality agreements tied to the units.  

“The less those who know what police are doing,” he instructed KSL Investigators, “the much less pushback there’s going to be when police are getting near the road of individuals’s constitutional rights.”   

Regulation’s limits 

Utahns could shrug off these issues in the event that they really feel they don’t have anything to cover, however there are nonetheless dangers, mentioned Connor Boyack, president of the libertarian-leaning Libertas Institute. 

“Everybody has one thing to cover,” mentioned Boyack, who helped craft the 2014 Utah legislation. “It is probably not unlawful, however there are issues that you just don’t need somebody snooping round and searching into your private life. Do we actually assume that some underpaid bureaucrat at some authorities company ought to have unfettered potential to scan the contents of your cellphone at any time when he desires?” 

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Connor Boyack, president of the libertarian-leaning Libertas Institute, helped craft a 2014 Utah legislation inserting limits on police use of cell website simulators. (Josh Szymanik/KSL-TV)

If police scoop up information from another person – not the particular person named in a warrant – Utah legislation requires police to destroy it “as quickly as moderately potential.” However there’s no penalty spelled out for police departments who dangle onto the data or sidestep the warrant requirement.  

“Regardless of passing that legislation, we nonetheless simply must belief that it’s being enforced and adequately adopted,” Boyack mentioned.  

Any public point out of the know-how is uncommon.  

It occurred in a Utah court docket case earlier this 12 months, nevertheless, in a listening to for a former Salt Lake Metropolis worker accused of telling an alleged human trafficker about undercover investigations. The worker warned the pimp a couple of cell website simulator scanning downtown Salt Lake Metropolis, in line with prosecutor Kaytlin Beckett with the Utah Lawyer Basic’s Workplace.  

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“He very clearly says, ‘StingRay’s getting used on this space, can decide up all cellphone chatter, all cellphone data inside a one-mile radius,’ ” Beckett mentioned within the March 10 listening to.  “That’s what a StingRay does.”

Protection attorneys are generally suspicious the gadget has been used however can’t monitor down the proof to show it, mentioned Greg Ferbrache, the protection legal professional representing the onetime metropolis staffer, Patrick Driscoll.  

“We find yourself punching into the air,” Ferbrache mentioned. He argued in court docket there’s no proof any StingRay was really getting used within the space on the time and instructed KSL the state ought to hand over any warrant tied to that investigation.  

Utah requires state and native police to get a warrant most often, together with anybody performing on their behalf. The U.S. Division of Justice coverage directs federal officers to take action, too, but it surely does permit exceptions, like when officers are attempting to stop critical harm or demise, or in “the new pursuit of a fleeing felon.”  

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R- Ogden, who sponsored the 2014 measure, mentioned it put Utah on the “vanguard” in protections for information privateness, and police “perceive the targets that we’ve right here and have been very useful alongside the best way.” 

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However Wilcox recollects one legislation enforcement officer telling him {that a} trove of information from one search helped them catch others finishing up crimes.   

“Since you additionally violated one other 2,000 individuals’s privateness on the time,” he recalled pondering.  

Boyack, with the Libertas Institute, mentioned if police are utilizing the software extra usually, the state ought to require them to register the units and ship lawmakers experiences on when and the way they’re utilizing them.  

“We must always have extra accountability and transparency,” he mentioned.

 

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Emiley Morgan contributed analysis to this story.  

This story from the KSL Investigators is one in a sequence exploring the state of information privateness and policing in Utah. Have you ever skilled one thing you assume simply isn’t proper? Submit your tip at investigates@ksl.com or 385-707-6153. 





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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer

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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer


SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News is Driven to Change and that includes bringing you reports on important topics like road rage, construction, and wrong-way drivers. During our coverage, we continually ask for any questions or concerns you may have along Utah’s roadways.

The feedback has gotten an enormous response, so FOX 13 sat down with Lieutenant Cameron Roden on Good Day Utah to help address input we have been getting, from the perspective of Utah Highway Patrol.

Speeding in Utah, there’s so much of it, and then you can sometimes say that that leads to tailgating, which may lead to road rage incidents. What are you seeing out there in terms of speed and what can we do to lessen the effects of that?

Lt. Cameron Roden: Speed is our number one thing that we see. That’s our number one traffic stop that we make, and we know that it leads to the majority of crashes in the state of Utah. So we definitely put an emphasis on speed and it does lead to other things. Not just crashes. It leads to road rage and other things .So, as far as what changes can we make, we need to start with ourselves, and really say, ‘Hey, do I have a problem?’ You know, we just need to start with ourselves and not think that it’s something else’s problem. If we slow our speeds ourselves, and then it’ll start to to catch on and people will do that speed limit. So, but the legislature has definitely taken some steps to help us address, especially the the speeds that are those excessive speeds where we have that one zero five law now that addresses those speeds and increases fines and and hopefully discourages people from those extreme speeds.

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Some of our viewers talked about maybe capping some of the speed limits for truck drivers. Is that something that’s even feasible?

You know, that would be something that would have to go through that, that legislative process to see whether we that would be something that would help. But ultimately, if we we start with ourselves, hopefully that will make that change and reduce crashes and fatalities.

There are things being done to try and intervene and stop wrong-way drivers before they happen. But some of our viewers propose things like spikes. What are your thoughts on implementing something like that?

We’ve had over the last several years, a rash of wrong-way drivers, and it’ll come in onesie twos, and then we’ll go for a period of time without that. And so, but this spike over the last couple of years has caused us to to create a task force to look at wrongly driving what things can be done. And so getting all these stakeholders together between UDOT and Highway Safety, looking at what technologies and things that could be implemented, and and things like, wrong way detection cameras. Those are some things that are being actually used in the state of Utah right now to help us spot those and and advance signage, getting people to realize they’re going the wrong way and turn around. The the spike strips have actually been talked about in our task force a little bit. And if something like that would even be, it is that technology available right now. And as what we could actually implement in the state of Utah, there’s nothing that really fits the bill right now because of our environment. We have our snow plows. We have snow and things like that. Something like that really wouldn’t be practical right now.

Probably the most talked about topic that we’ve received was distracted driving, texting while driving. You went out, I saw on the UHP social media page, that you guys just driving and you look to your right and left and you can find someone texting. What kind of enforcement do we have against distracted driving specifically on your phone?

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This is something that we like you said, we see it every day. We go out to crashes,and and we may suspect that a driver may be distracted. And so, it’s something that’s definitely under-reported. It’s it’s a bigger problem than than the numbers really show.And so not only do we address it during our normal patrols.Our officers are seeing it, and addressing it while they’re out there.But we’ll also do targeted patrols where the highway safety office actually gives out additional funds for that targeted enforcement, where we’ll get an unmarked vehicle. We go out driving down the roads where we try to spot these vehicles and and get them stopped because those are those are a big danger on our roadways where our attention and our focus needs to be on driving.

If you have ideas or suggestions for how to make Utah’s roadways safer click here to be taken to our Driven to Change form. There you can share your ideas or suggestions.

DRIVEN TO CHANGE

Share your ideas on how to make Utah’s roads safer





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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters


WEST JORDAN, Utah — The Utah National Guard has been serving the state since 1894 with roots dating back to the Minutemen of the 17th-century American colonies.

This weekend, they received quite the boost in the form of the Army’s most advanced attack helicopter.

“These aircraft are extremely fast compared to our other aircraft,” said Col. Patrick.

On Saturday, the Utah National Guard took their new Apache helicopters for a spin.

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“The flight went better than we could have hoped for. A little weather on the east coast, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all,” Patrick said.

The first four of 24 Apaches arrived early Saturday morning after they went under full inspection.

“They’ve got software on there that it’s like playing a video game. You just fly the video game and the airplane… is fast and smooth, which is the good thing, and so it’ll just hold the altitude and airspeed and just keep on trucking along. It’s pretty good,” Patrick said.

The first Apache helicopters arrived in Utah back in 1992.

“It just continues the legacy of the air pirates and what we bring to not only Utah, but really to the global fight and security, really,” Patrick added.

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The colonel calls it a major step forward.

“What a great day for Utah as we advance into the next couple decades of combat operations and what we can provide to, you know, the global security.”





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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Utah Hockey Club – Game #21 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Utah Hockey Club – Game #21 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info


The depth continues to be tested as the bodies keep dropping out of the lineup up front. Tonight, a resilient Maple Leafs team is seeking its fourth consecutive win as Alex Nylander debuts on an all-Marlies line against a tired 8-9-2 Utah Hockey Club (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).


Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Utah

In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Utah holds the advantage in three out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.


Game Day Quotes

Craig Berube on what he learned from the pre-scout of Utah’s 6-1 win over Pittsburgh last night: 

The power play was good. They got three. They’re fast, and they have a lot of skill. They make a lot of plays — a lot of west-west plays — and get up the ice really well. Their D are involved.

We have to check well tonight. We have to stay out of the penalty box. Our PK is going to be important.

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Overall, we need to take time and space away from this team right out of the offensive zone. Be hard on them breaking plays up. That will be very important tonight.

Berube on the decision to start Joseph Woll over Anthony Stolarz tonight: 

[Woll] had a really good game against Vegas. We are just thinking ahead here. Stolly has played a lot. We have some time here. He is working in practice and doing a lot of good things.

That’s really it. We just talk about things and make decisions on what we think is best for the goalies and the team.

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I talked earlier about how both goalies are going to see more net than they have in the past. It is important that we manage it to the best of our abilities.

Woll is coming off a real solid game against a real good team. We wanted to go back with him.

Berube on what improvements he is looking for from his team offensively after a week of practice: 

Attacking more than we are. There are times when we tend to just control the play a little bit too much on the outside. We could attack more with more shots to the net, get pucks low to high, and do more on-and-off shooting while getting people to the net with numbers around there.

Resets to the back of the net, making quick plays out of there, doing things a little bit quicker, moving it quicker, supporting it quicker, and getting more pucks to the net than we are.

Berube on why Fraser Minten is so trustworthy despite his lack of experience: 

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It goes back to a great draft pick, finding a player who is so responsible at a young age. You guys aren’t on the bench, but just hearing him talk on the bench and how he sees the game, he says all the right things.

You don’t see young guys do that very often. He is already doing it at a very young age with very little experience. It is great to see. It’s refreshing. It really is.

Minten on the keys to success for his line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Nylander:

We just have to be simple with pucks and forecheck, using our speed to get pucks back on the forecheck. From there, let the skill make things happen. Those guys are really good when they get it back, so we have to make sure we are forechecking hard to retrieve pucks, and we’ll go from there.

Minten on the keys to success in the net-front role on the top power-play unit: 

Try not to overcomplicate it too much. Get the goalie’s eyes, get in sight lines, try to get pucks back, get some tips, get some screens, and cause a little chaos. You can draw a defender with you. If you’re going backdoor, you give them a little more space. Be ready for anything coming to you. They are great players, so just try to read off of them, and hopefully, it goes well.

Minten on his experience level in front of the net on the power play: 

In junior, I was mostly a flank guy with the puck more, but last year, I kind of got into it more at the end of the year, and I have been playing that role with the Marlies every game so far this year.

Minten on Morgan Rielly’s guidance at the NHL level: 

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He has been amazing. We have a lot in common, being from the same place. He took me under his wing a little bit and has been super nice. It makes it easy when you are coming in at 18 or 19 and there is a guy who comes to talk to you and is a really nice, supportive guy and friend. He has been awesome.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#89 Nick Robertson— #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#71 Nikita Grebenkin  — #39 Fraser Minten — #92 Alex Nylander
#46 Alex Steeves — #24 Connor Dewar — #18 Steven Lorentz

Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins

Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz

Extras: Jani Hakanpää, Philippe Myers
Suspended: Ryan Reaves (four games remaining)
Injured (IR): Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Matthew Knies
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf


Utah Hockey Club Projected Lines

Forwards
#9 Clayton Keller — #27 Barrett Hayton — #8 Nick Schmaltz
#22 Jack McBain — #92 Logan Cooley — #11 Dylan Guenther
#63 Matias Maccelli — #17 Nick Bjugstad — #67 Lawson Course
#15 Alex Kerfoot — #82 Kevin Stenlund — #53 Michael Carcone

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Defensemen
#98 Mikhail Sergachev — #2 Olli Maata
#28 Ian Cole — #10 Maveric Lamoureux
#7 Michael Kesselring — #41 Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Karel Vejmelka
Jayson Stauber

Injured: Sean Durzi, John Marino, Connor Ingram

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