NEWS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW
Suit: ADT employee spied on customers’ home security systems
DALLAS (AP) — Two federal class-action lawsuits have been filed against ADT, one of the largest security companies in the country, alleging that an employee spied on customers and children over a seven-year period through their home security cameras.
The lawsuits, filed Monday, allege ADT showed negligence and breached contracts by failing to provide security, among other concerns. Both lawsuits say the employee was able to view customers’ intimate and private moments, including when they were nude or partially dressed.
The breach was discovered in March after an ADT customer in DeSoto, Texas, reported an unauthorized email address on her account. An internal investigation discovered the employee’s personal email address was added on 220 ADT customers’ accounts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
ADT has fired the employee since discovering the breach. It was not immediately clear whether he faces criminal charges.
“We took immediate action and put measures in place to prevent this from happening again,” ADT said in a written statement Monday. “We are supporting law enforcement’s investigation of the former employee and are committed to helping bring justice to those impacted by his improper actions.”
The lawsuits were filed in Florida, where ADT is headquartered. Each suit seeks for more than $5 million in compensation.
“I am just horrified that a company that holds itself as the number one security option allowed this to happen,” attorney Amy Carter said. “They gave access to someone’s home when they were seeking additional security.”
The lawsuits allow for other affected individuals to come forward as attorneys for the clients say they are concerned the incident may not have been isolated to just one employee.
“We hope that based on the facts of the case that ADT will take this seriously and get this resolved as soon as possible,” attorney Matthew McCarley said. “Because a lot of people have been hurt. The invasion of someone’s privacy — you can’t get that back.”
2017 video shows Georgia officer tried to stun Ahmaud Arbery
By RUSS BYNUM and KATE BRUMBACK
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — More than two years before he was fatally shot in a Georgia subdivision, Ahmaud Arbery had a tense confrontation in a public park with police officers who attempted to use a stun gun on him after Arbery angrily protested being bothered and refused to let them search his parked car.
“You bothering me for nothing!” Arbery tells one of the Glynn County police officers whose body camera recorded the encounter on Nov. 7, 2017.
Arbery was killed Feb. 23 by a white father and son who armed themselves and gave chase after seeing the 25-year-old black man running down their street. More than two months passed before a video of the killing emerged, sparking an outcry. Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were then jailed on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.
Attorneys for Arbery’s parents said Tuesday that the body camera video from 2017 shows Arbery being harassed by the same police department that declined to arrest his killers. The McMichaels were taken into custody after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case this month.
In the incident report for the 2017 encounter, officer M. Kanago writes that he pulled up behind Arbery’s car parked in an open field at a public park because it was a “known area for drugs and other criminal activity.”
First obtained by The Guardian, the video released Monday shows Arbery repeatedly declining when an officer asks to search his Toyota. A backup officer arrives, and tells Arbery “don’t reach the car” and “keep your hands out your pockets.” This second officer then attempts to use a stun gun as Arbery raises his hands out to his sides. The device just clicks loudly; the officer later says it malfunctioned. Arbery complies with orders to get on the ground, and he goes to his knees.
At the beginning of the encounter, Arbery hands over his driver’s license and asks the first officer on the scene why he’s being bothered. When he’s told that the area is known for drugs, Arbery becomes angry. “Criminal activity? I’m in a f—-ing park! I work! What the f—- you talking about?”
The first officer pats him down looking for weapons. “I’m not searching you. I’m checking you for weapons,” he says, adding: “You don’t have any warrants.”
