
Apple Investigators Posed as Police in New Lost iPhone Prototype Search? - antr
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/02/apple-investigators-posed-as-police-in-new-lost-iphone-prototype-search/
======
cryptoz
What's going on with Apple and shady legal dealings recently? It appears they
are faking evidence in European courts; that should be a criminal offense. It
appears they are impersonating police officers - that IS a criminal offense.

Is the media I'm reading biased? Is this all actually happening? What turned
Apple into a crime or near-crime committing business? This is all very weird.

~~~
eykanal
I think the likelihood of this story being even close to 100% true is very
remote. Yes, Apple likes to keep their secrets closely guarded. Yes, they go
to extreme _legal_ lengths, including intimidating the press (and early-access
developers), takedown notices to blogs, and all other sorts of tight-lipped
requirements on their employees.

This claim, however, this is so far beyond the normal realm of large company
behavior that it's absurd. It's most likely that a good portion of what was
reported is inaccurate.

~~~
jonknee
Looks like it's not so far fetched, the SFPD has now admitted that they stood
by while Apple staff searched the home. The only remaining piece is if they
identified themselves properly.

Even without more information, this is extraordinarily embarrassing for both
the SFPD and Apple. What other companies get policing privileges?

------
beej71
Know how to recognize an Apple officer!

Is there a blue glow pulsing from the officer's eyes in time with your
breathing?

When questioned about his identity, does the officer inflate and spin a
beachball before answering?

Does the officer have rounded corners?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you might be speaking with a
member of the Apple Police Force. Beware!

~~~
camperman
Hahahahha - genius. I can hardly type this from laughing. Thanks :)

~~~
gfodor
What do you call the black rods of steel in your prison cell window in Apple
Police Headquarters?

Genius bars.

------
lawnchair_larry
It's more troubling that he is a retired police officer.

I'm sure he never did anything shady or in violation of people's rights, or
threaten/intimidate immigrants during his previous 25 years on the force.
Surely that behavior only started a few months ago when he joined Apple

~~~
sliverstorm
Well, as for the 'posing as police', If you spent your life on the force,
after you retire it might sometimes be difficult to refrain from
"impersonating an officer".

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pinko
I'm a big fan of Apple tech, but if this turns out to be true, I hope they
throw the book at Apple.

~~~
sliverstorm
Personally, I hope the book is thrown by someone impersonating a judge.

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jemfinch
Why in the world would you voluntarily allow police or purported police to
search your apartment?

~~~
philwelch
Because they wear uniforms and carry guns, and don't make it seem like you
have a choice.

~~~
tdfx
Very true. Most people don't understand how to properly resist police
intimidation until they've already been victimized from it.

~~~
epochwolf
> Most people don't understand how to properly resist police intimidation

Got any links on how to do this?

~~~
X-Istence
First words out of your mouth when they want to search the premises or even
ask you any questions is:

"I'd like to speak with my lawyer first".

and second, if those aren't the first, or you don't have an on-call lawyer, it
is easier to start with:

"May I please see a search warrant?"

~~~
rdl
Also key: while you're talking with them, don't invite them inside. Talk to
them outside, and if you do decide to talk with them to answer questions
(ideally, with a lawyer), do it at a neutral location outside your
home/office.

~~~
X-Istence
Definitely, whenever I have in the past talked to police officers (awesome
parties ...) I always make sure to pull the door closed behind me. Then I am
willing to have a chat. Usually it would come down to a "please keep the noise
down, have a great evening" and we'd be set :-)

~~~
rdl
I guess I take this too far; I was staying in a friend's flat in Edinburgh;
police showed up at the door, demanding entry -- I asked them for ID and then
called the police to verify they were real cops, locked all my drives, etc.,
etc. Then after about 2-3 minutes, opened the door and went out into the hall
-- turns out it was a gas leak. I'm sure they told stories about the paranoid
American.

------
tvon
from
[http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/iphone_5_apple_p...](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/iphone_5_apple_police.php)

> _San Francisco Police Department spokesman Lt. Troy Dangerfield now tells SF
> Weekly that "three or four" SFPD officers accompanied two Apple security
> officials in an unusual search of a Bernal Heights man's home._

The SFPD says they were there.

------
cbs
Just like Patent Trolling, Apple seems to have taken the "OK If _we_ do it"
approach to Impersonating An Officer.

~~~
divtxt
This comment reminded me to check Gruber. Sure enough:
<http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/09/02/iphone-5>

Translation from Gruber-speak:

 _> Nice reporting by Peter Jamison at SF Weekly_

Let's think positive things about people.

 _> Cook’s first crisis at the helm?_

Let's think of this as a management challenge for post-Jobs Apple. (and not as
Apple breaking the law)

 _> UPDATE: SF police now confirm they were involved._

The police were there so obviously nothing illegal happened! Move along,
nothing to see...

\----

Can't wait to read Gruber's full editorial if this story blows up. :)

 _edits: wording, formatting_

------
darksaga
Anybody else feel like both of these stories (this one and the one from last
year regarding the iphone 4) were planted? My BS meter is going off like
crazy.

~~~
pavel_lishin
The fact that the victim doesn't appear to have talked to the police is a bad
sign.

~~~
ktsmith
Not really, if he honestly thought that the people that came to his door were
police officers he would initially have had no reason to reach out to the
police. Even after it's brought to his attention by the reporter, he might
still think he doesn't need to call the police since the reporter has talked
to them. It might occur to you or I to call the police and file a compliant or
ask for an investigation but someone that has been threatened or isn't
familiar with their rights might not. He did let six people with "some kind of
badges" and no warrant search his property after all. That could mean he felt
threatened (he said they made threatening comments) or simply didn't know what
his rights were in that scenario.

From my reading of the sf weekly blog I didn't realize that the police weren't
investigating until I read the third update as the other posts all sounded
like the SFPD was already doing an investigation.
[http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/lost_iphone_5_ap...](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/lost_iphone_5_apple.php)

------
terrapinbear
How does one get to walk around with the next iPhone prototype in a bar in the
first place?

------
CurtHagenlocher
I'm calling it first: "This would never have happened under Jobs". If true, of
course.

~~~
crenshaw
_Calderón got in touch with us yesterday in an effort to clarify who, exactly,
had searched his home on an evening in July._

This did happen under Jobs -- if true.

~~~
ktsmith
Jobs has been on medical leave since January and Tim Cook has been acting as
CEO since then. Jobs just stepped aside completely in August by resigning.

~~~
jmreid
Not according to this PR on Jan 17, 2011:
[http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/01/17Apple-Media-
Adviso...](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/01/17Apple-Media-
Advisory.html)

"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of
absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in
major strategic decisions for the company."

~~~
ktsmith
Right, he was on medical leave. He retained the title and was involved in all
major strategic decisions. Tim Cook was left to handle daily operations and
was essentially acting CEO. While I would be surprised if Jobs didn't know
about a lost iPhone given his heavy involvement in the company I also don't
see how this isn't a daily operations issue falling to Tim Cook.

------
uptown
Is there any proof substantiating this guy's claim that a search even
happened?

~~~
51Cards
He gave the (former) police officer's name and phone number to the
newspaper... so he got it somehow?

~~~
killion
Yeah, thats the sticky part about this. Because the story has changed and it's
corroborated I'm inclined not to believe it. But having that guys info is odd,
although he was on LinkedIn.

------
fuzzythinker
Why is a possibly false rumor that has nothing to do with hacking & startups
on the front page the whole day?

EDIT: If you agree with me, down vote on the story instead of upvoting this.
Otherwise, I would have just done the opposite of my intention.

------
killion
Doesn't it seem like the guy who claims this happened could be lying? His
story did change once the SFPD said it wasn't them.

~~~
arn
I think his story is still consistent. He said SFPD came to his house. SF
Weekly said, they actually didn't. So he said, well, people who said they were
SFPD came to my house, and here's their number. It's the number of an Apple
security person.

~~~
killion
In the SF Weekly article they have him contacting them after the SFPD denied
involvement.

------
jwcooper
Before we all jump over Apple, this could just be one guy going somewhat
'rogue', and forgetting he's a retired police officer, and not an Apple
Investigator in the private sector. If what is written is true, this
investigator likely has a lot of explaining to do.

The conspiracist in me thinks the SF police dept worked with him, but didn't
want it on the record for some reason, and will just shuffle the investigation
under the rug.

~~~
jm4
The article specifically says that 6 people are alleged to have shown up with
badges, claiming to be with the police. So it can't be explained away as one
old nutjob reliving the glory days of busting down doors and roughing up
perps.

That said, we do need more information. The entire basis for this story is one
person's account and the actual police saying they had nothing to do with it.
The only corroborating evidence is a phone number that the "police" left that
belongs to an Apple employee. The again, who knows how he actually got the
number.

It's too early to jump all over Apple based on so little evidence, but the
whole thing sounds pretty shady. If it does turn out they did this they need
to suffer.

~~~
jwcooper
Good points, not sure why I disregarded the 6 other people at the door.

Although, it is a bit odd that after all this, he (Calderon) still hasn't
reached out to the SFPD, as indicated in the SF Weekly's latest updates.

~~~
ktsmith
He may have simply thought he didn't need to do anything since the police are
obviously aware of the situation.

