The Los Angeles Police Department requested access to Amazon Ring footage while investigating vandalism during last summer’s anti-racism and police brutality protests, according to newly released emails. The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls it the first evidence of police trying to identify protest attendees with home surveillance cameras — although it’s part of a much longer relationship between Amazon and law enforcement.
The EFF published a string of redacted emails between the LAPD and an Amazon representative. The document includes copies of several requests to Ring customers, asking for surveillance footage from their camera-equipped doorbells. Many of the forms are heavily redacted, but on June 16th, Amazon submitted a request…