(PCM) Amazon Echo the popular gadget from Amazon has been a popular item as of late. The device has the capability of Android’s ‘Ok Google’ and Apple’s Siri. The device can do everything from answering questions to turning on your air conditioner. But a lot of people are questioning is this technology a good thing or bad thing. Even though the sales that Amazon have reported over the holiday season are enormous.
Police seem to be using this technology some say against the public. In a crazy case, out of Bentonville, Arkansas police have filed search warrants with Amazon. The police are looking to get the records of an Echo belonging to a man named James A. Bates. Investigators want the records from the device between November 21 and November 22, 2016. Bates was charged with murder in the strangling death of Victor Collins.
According to some media reports, while investigating, police noticed the Echo in the kitchen and pointed out that the music playing in the home could have been voice activated through the device. While the Echo records only after hearing the wake word, police are hoping that ambient noise or background chatter could have accidentally triggered the device, leading to some more clues.
The incident occurred when Bates had invited two friends — one of them former Georgia police officer Victor Collins, over to his Bentonville home, where they watched college football, drank beer, and had shots of vodka, according, to the search warrant. The men then decided to get into Bates’ hot tub and Bates said he went to bed around 1 a.m. When he awoke in the morning, Collins was floating face-down in the hot tub, the affidavit says.
According to court documents, Amazon has yet to give into the search warrant and has not sent any recordings to police. So next time you have a private conservation with some friends, BEWARE, Alexia might be listening..
