Did Apple Impersonate Police To Recover the Lost iPhone 5?

zacharye writes "This whole lost iPhone 5 prototype story just got whole lot more interesting. According to SF Weekly, six investigators claiming to be members of the San Francisco police department descended upon one Bernal Heights, San Francisco man's home in search of a lost iPhone 5 prototype that CNET originally reported had been left in a bar. The scary part? The SFPD does not seem to be aware of such an investigation. Instead, it appears as though they may have actually been members of Apple's security team allegedly impersonating police officers." So far this claim seems to be developing solely through media communications; in order for the SFPD to start an investigation, the man whose house was searched would need to speak with the police directly. Update: 09/03 12:14 GMT by S : A later report indicates police were present, but they stood outside while Apple employees searched the house. No police report was filed because Apple wanted it kept a secret.

Comments

Apple markets them as

[cyberchondriac]

iPigs

Re:There's no *official* investigation...

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

This is any better or actually any different?

It is actually worse. When an off-duty cop gets hired to work for a private employer they should not have any privileges that normal private security would have - i.e. none. Anything else is abuse of power. Sadly, that's not the way it works in the US where off-duty cops get all the privileges and protections that on-duty cops get. I had a friend who was assaulted by a bouncer at a bar - she hit him back and got charged with assaulting an officer because he was an off-duty, out of uniform cop moonlighting as a bouncer.