Maricopa officers to shoot GPS trackers onto fleeing cars

The Maricopa Police Department has installed new equipment that allows officers to shoot GPS trackers onto fleeing vehicles.

The Casa Grande Dispatch reports the GPS technology is lodged inside a canister, manufactured by StarChase, that is shot from the front of a patrol car and then sticks to the vehicle being pursued through magnets and a sticky adhesive.

Four of the department’s patrol cars have been equipped with StarChase equipment and officers will begin training with them early next year.

StarChase has said in prior statements that warrants are not needed because officers only use their trackers in situations where they have probable cause to follow the vehicle. The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement in 2014 approving the use of StarChase trackers only in cases where officers have probable cause to pursue a suspect.