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Police Use Pacemaker Data To Charge Homeowner With Arson, Insurance Fraud (networkworld.com)
JustAnotherOldGuy writes from a report via Network World: If you're dependent upon an embedded medical device, the device that helps keep you alive may also be used to incriminate you in a crime. Ross Compton, a 59-year-old homeowner in Ohio called 911 in September 2016 to say that his house was on fire, however there were many irregularities to the blaze that investigators found suspicious, such as contradictory statements from Compton and the way that the fire had started. In the ensuing investigation, the police secured a warrant for the logs from his pacemaker, specifically, "Compton's heart rate, pacer demand and cardiac rhythms before, during and after the fire." They subsequently filed charges of felony aggravated arson and insurance fraud. Middletown Police said this was the first time it had used data from a heart device to make an arrest, but the pacemaker data proved to be an "excellent investigative tool"; the data from the pacemaker didn't correspond with Compton's version of what happened. The retrieved data was used to help indict Compton. Lt. Jimmy Cunningham stated, "It was one of the key pieces of evidence that allowed us to charge him."
in court. Not if he had the money to fight it. But with our justice system they'll get a conviction out of him. Well, a plea bargain. Hell, guy's house just burned down. One way or the other he's not gonna have the money to pay legal bills.
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I have no intentions at all of burning anything down or committing any violent acts, but this is still a scary development.
You can avoid a lot of the "spew all minutia of your life to the cloud!" insanity that's taken over the world, but if you need a pacemaker, well, you need a pacemaker. It's nothing something you can easily opt out of, well except for the usual "exercise eat right try to stay healthy" bit, but eventually, age catches up with everybody.
Sometimes you can opt out of other people's stupidity. With medical care, not so much. Ditto when it comes to the security of your medical records, where de-anonymization of them is a massive industry now.
Is the pacemaker part of him? Is offloading the data testifying?
In any case, I'm voting guilty. He looks like a shifty bastard.
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It seems like the warrant was issued upon probable cause and ...
In full compliance with the Bill of Rights, in other words. Are we supposed to be outraged anyway?
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than see anyone's own biometrics used against them this way. This is fucking vile. I hope it goes to the supreme court - not that it will make any difference soon.
This reminds me of the murder of David Crawford in Australia. The killer had an alibi matching what police initially thought was the time of death. By analyzing data from Crawford's pacemaker, they were able to pinpoint the exact moment he died, which busted the killer's alibi.
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The evidence of the pacemaker is only evidence of it's activity and nothing more. There is not evidence correlating changes in activity to anything else. What else can cause changes, intoxicant consumption, sexual activity (whether shared or individual sexual stimulation), general exposure to media content (movies, TV series, music).
Basically they twisted the evidence in such a way, that the defendant must now prove innocence. There are many activities that would generate those response, their claim that only one could produce it, is inherently false, especially when the defendant is now forced to prove they were doing something else to generate that response and the prosecution has to prove nothing, just make that false claim.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
I remember a guy burned his place down but forgot his neighbor had a security camera installed. Filmed the guy running out of the house right before fire started with a gas can. Oh well, technology is everywhere and used for many things when you can convince a judge it could help solve a crime.If you plan on committing a crime, you best be leaving your technology devices at home or disabled. Even then someone elses may still catch you in the act.
In an ironic twist of fate, the perpetrator committed the arson in an attempt to collect money to pay his medical bills.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
. . . before the fire started, I was squeezin' off a muscle missile. You know, like in the Jackson Browne song 'Rosie'.
The 5th amendment protection against self-incrimination is, to the actual letter of the law, that someone "shall not be compelled to be a witness against himself". Which the intent was that no person shall be forced to give testimony or make forced confessions or possibly have their words manipulated to be used against him/her. Testimony is the act of the person saying or asserting things.
A lot of people confuse this with things that they operate or own to be used as evidence against them. The protection against self-incrimination does not mean that no evidence can be produced to be used against you. And the data from your pacemaker hardly qualifies as you being forced to testify.
Wow, I got to hand it to the investigators. Thinking outside the box. I'm being serious.
GNU Pacemaker, where you have the right to SSH in and turn off logging. Coming to a broken heart near you.
Apple Watch has a heart-rate sensor too. Anything you wear can and will be used against you.
It's safe to say that your post is based on gratuitous speculation.
Reading the linked articles it appears that the man had done things, notably moving heavy objects and exiting the house through his bedroom window, alledgedly between the start of the fire and him leaving the building, that were inconsistent with a cardiologist's estimate, on examination of the pacemaker data, of his body's maximum power output around that time. That's a pretty solid piece of evidence.
The obvious conclusions is that this man moved his stuff out of the house _before_ the sire started, simply because he'd have to spread the required power output over a longer period than he left had when he reported the fire..
As far as I can estimate such thiings (IANAL, etc.), this would be pretty convincing to a jury. Regardless of the quality of his legal defense.
I'm outraged because medical data should be privileged - just like legal advice and the discussion between married couples. Both* of those - and statements to a doctor - are beyond the reach of a warrant.
Beyond it simply being privileged because it is medical data, I think data without the ability to opt out is scary, and needs to be protectable - because the default state of "don't create the data" doesn't exist.
* Note sure about married couples in all states.
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Let's say a criminal is bound to a wheelchair and need a wheelchair attendant to push him around. He sneaks on a victim, while being pushed by an attendant, and shoots the victim multiple times. Does the police have no right to question his attendant? How is the pacemaker log different? "because it is a medical necessity" applies to both cases. "because on a computer" is not a valid argument, and you know it.
Nobody should be convicted or released until the experts on Slashdot have been consulted.
Disable pacemaker before committing crimes. Got it.
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