All major phone system have features that can be used for listening in to conversations. This could be legitimate monitoring by supervisors, but the systems could also be compromised to allow unauthorized eavesdropping. There are also methods for activating speakerphone mics to listen in to room conversations. In King City, CA, the city manager is accused of listening in to room conversations through his phone.
An early May search warrant of Michael Powers’ office indicates the King City city manager may have surreptitiously listened to confidential conversations regarding an alleged for-profit tow scheme…
“Investigators believe that Powers arranged the KCPD telephones set-up in a way that allows him to activate the microphone in Chief Hegwood’s office (and others) without their knowledge and consent,” according to the warrant.
On April 17, Diaz and Ferreria met with Hegwood in his office. Topics of discussion included Officer Christopher Craig’s towing practices and the concealed carry permit former chief Nick Baldiviez issued to Powers, according to the warrant.
Craig wasn’t one of the six officers arrested in the wide-sweeping investigation.
By the end of the conversation, all three agreed to keep the contents of the meeting confidential, according to the warrant. However, an hour later Hegwood called Diaz “extremely upset and concerned that Powers may have been somehow eavesdropping in our conversations.”
Hegwood told the investigators at the time of his hiring he’d been informed by several employees his office and other areas of the department were “bugged,” according to the warrant. Private conversations were, on occasion, “leaked out,” Hegwood said.
“Chief Hegwood said he did not believe these rumors because in his 30 years in of law enforcement, he would never have imagined such a thing could occur,” according to the warrant.
Later that day, however, Hegwood said he changed his mind when Powers approached him to discuss exactly the topics examined during the earlier confidential meeting.
In retrospect, Hegwood said, a previous conversation with Sgt. Alex Tirado concerning items coming up for City Council review had, too, been confidential. Again, that afternoon Powers caught up with Hegwood to address “the specific 10 issues he and Sgt. Tirado had discussed earlier in his office.”
“Chief Hegwood informed me that he was now confident that Powers was somehow listening in on his conversations,” Diaz wrote in the warrant.
An after-hours search of Hegwood’s office, at his behest, revealed his phone was equipped with “a small dim-colored light illuminated.” Below the light was the word “mic,” according to the warrant. Further search at Hegwood’s behest revealed all sergeants’ phones were equipped similarly.
Tirado later told Diaz and Ferreria that Powers’ former assistant had confided in her that she could hear conversations from Tirado’s office emanating from the phone in Powers’ office.
On April 18, Diaz and Ferreria discovered the numbers “5917” alit on the LCD screen of Hegwood’s phone during a follow-up meeting. Those numbers represent Powers’ phone extension number, according to the warrant. At the same time, the “mic” light was also illuminated. Previously, the red light illuminated, signifying an incoming call, but the ringtone didn’t sound, according to the warrant.
“Additionally, we noticed that when we walked to Sgt. Tirado’s office to speak with her, ‘5917’ displayed on the LCD screen of her telephone,” according to the warrant. “Please note that Sgt. Tirado had informed me that prior to entering her office, ‘5917’ was not displayed.”
While investigating the matter with the phone company, investigators found Powers’ phone had been specially set-up as a two-way microphone, according to the warrant.
“The technician said that when the telephone is programmed to be a listening device, no ringtone will be heard,” Diaz wrote. “This is done to avoid the user knowing that the telephone microphone is active.”
Based on the warrant, a search of Powers’ office was authorized on May 8 and 13. DA’s investigators planned to place an audio and video device in Powers’ office and stage a meeting in Hegwood’s office.