Oakland, California police officers are reportedly increasingly relying on Teslas — and even obtaining court orders to tow them — to obtain video footage of crimes that happen near where the cars are parked. 

Police in the Oakland area are “frequently” looking to Teslas to provide video footage from its expansive outer camera system, a San Francisco Chronicle report found. And although they often obtain an owner’s permission to gather the footage, police are now seeking search warrants to tow the Teslas into evidence — in the aim of pursuing as many leads as possible in cases when the car owners aren’t around. 

Law enforcement points to Tesla’s unique “Sentry Mode,” which according to Tesla’s website, keeps the vehicle’s cameras and sensors “powered on and ready to record suspicious activity” even when the car is locked and in park mode. 

“I know that Tesla vehicles contain external surveillance cameras in order to protect their drivers from theft and/or liability in accidents,” one officer, Kevin Godchaux, wrote in one search warrant affidavit, the Chronicle reports. He was seeking to view footage on a Tesla that was parked at a La Quinta Inn near where a man was found with gunshot and stab wounds, believing that the car’s cameras may have captured the potential homicide. “I respectfully request that a warrant is authorized to seize this vehicle from the La Quinta Inn parking lot so this vehicle’s surveillance footage may be searched via an additional search warrant at a secure location.”

Teslas’ unique camera systems — which are not always activated — could provide police with helpful tools when they happen to be parked near a crime scene, but taking the cars into evidence unbeknownst to the owner comes with challenges. 

In addition to the car towings being an “inconvenience” to car owners, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute, Brent Skorup, tells the Sun, there could be some “constitutional complaints” as car owners have “their property removed at least temporarily from their possessions.”

The Tesla video footage that is used by police could also be symbolic of a growing surveillance state as law enforcement increasingly relies on third party devices to fight crime. 

“I think this is an indication of more of what we’ll see as cameras proliferate,” Mr. Skorup says, adding that a similar pattern has emerged with doorbell cameras. “Police are using, you know, typically asking a homeowner or a convenience store or something to use their video, but sometimes they do seize it. So I would expect, much like doorbell cams spread rapidly and police are using it, as these car cams proliferate, I would expect police to use this in their investigations.”

The Oakland Police Department’s press contact was not reachable for comment.