Search for missing Iphone 5 prompts SFPD investigation

THE QUESTIONABLE WAY in which San Francisco's finest aided Apple in an attempt to recover its missing Iphone 5 prototype is now the focus of internal investigation at the San Francisco police department (SFPD).

According to a report by the San Francisco Examiner, an investigation has begun. The Examiner earlier broke the news that four plain clothes police officers accompanied Apple security agents on an unusual search of a man's house and could have helped them impersonate police officers as they searched for the missing Iphone 5.

The policemen visited an address in San Francisco with two Apple representatives, flashed their cards and then stood back to let their friends search the premises and the suspects' vehicle, all under colour of authority as 'official police work'.

The man whose premises and car were searched said he thought that they were all police officers and that was why he agreed to the warrantless search. Well, that and the fact that they inquired about his family's immigration status and suggested they could get in trouble with authorities.

Impersonating a police officer is a criminal offence, and we suspect that colluding with an organisation such as Apple to pretend that someone is a police officer when they are not might also fall under that category. Particularly when viewed under the microscope of internal affairs.

Although the first SFPD police spokesman that the Examiner contacted refused to be drawn on suggestions that anything improper had occurred, another police spokesman has revealed more.

Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza confirmed Wednesday that the department has begun "an internal investigation into this incident". According to the newspaper no further information has been released, however. µ