Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Francisco Castillo has been temporarily suspended after livestreaming a traffic stop just to gain TikTok influence in 2021. Osby exposed himself to identity theft and home break-ins by flashing Osby’s driver’s license and sharing personal information with his over 100 followers who tuned in to Castillo’s livestream. It has been.
Osby’s attorney, James P. Roberts, told Ars that customers were unlikely to be the only victims of Castillo’s privacy-invading social media exploits. The complaint uncovered a pattern of Castillo sharing videos while on the job, which appeared to get more engagement than other videos, and Osby’s attorneys said Castillo would increase his likes and ratings. There seems to be more and more motivation to create videos of policing activities in hopes of follower.
Roberts told Ars, “The Deputy Commissioner’s actions are highly concerning given the number of other work-in-progress videos he has removed from his TikTok account.” No doubt we will uncover other examples of live-streamed citizen interactions between this lawmaker and other citizens.”
As of this writing, Castillo’s TikTok account, “CycoCisco,” is still active and has 17,500 followers. Ars confirmed that all videos documenting his law enforcement activities appear to have been taken down.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment but released a statement reported by the Dallas News.The department suspended Castillo for two days without pay for violating the department’s social media policy. He has confirmed that he has been suspended, but is still employed by the ministry.
Osby, who also named Dallas County as a defendant in the lawsuit, is seeking a jury trial and seeking financial relief for suffering mental and emotional distress due to “a flagrant invasion of his privacy.”
TikTok declined to comment on this particular account. TikTok acknowledges that such harassment “can cause severe emotional distress and other offline harm,” so a TikTok spokesperson has banned the sharing of personally identifiable information. His TikTok community pointed out his guidelines to Mr. Ars.
Osby remains ‘terrified’ after TikTok stream
According to Osby’s complaint, a Tarrant County resident was driving to a shift at a Walmart when Castillo pulled over for speeding. Osby was surprised by the traffic stop because he claimed he was driving with cruise control on and wasn’t speeding, but after Castillo only gave him a verbal warning and allowed him to drive, he stopped driving. continued.
About 20 minutes later, when internet user “Stanley Sensational” contacted Osby on Facebook, Osby learned that Castillo had live-streamed the traffic stop. “Stanley” tells Osby that Castillo found him on Facebook using information he shared on Osby’s driver’s license.
“Stanley” then shared a screenshot of Castillo’s TikTok stream. The screenshot was posted to Castillo’s account under the username “CycoCisco”. That’s when Osby learned that more than 100 of her Castillo followers could watch the stream and access personally identifiable information like Osby’s home address, date of birth, and driver’s license number.
Osby’s lawyers allege that Castillo knew Osby wasn’t speeding at the traffic stop, and that Castillo was only pulling Osby to make this video that caused the cop’s TikTok engagement to skyrocket. I’m here. The claim appears to be backed up by “Stanley’s” account, in which Osby said in a livestream that Castillo made the video just to show his followers what he was doing during the traffic stop. said to Osby.
After Osby saw the TikTok, he notified the Sheriff’s Department, who, through the General Affairs Department, launched an investigation, resulting in Castillo’s temporary suspension.
Since “Stanley” was able to track Osby on Facebook, Osby fears that others who see TikTok will use the information to track him down or steal his identity. He was “horrified,” his complaint claims. Osby was so concerned about breaking into his home that he installed cameras to increase his security.
Among the laws Osby claims Castillo violated by live-streaming the traffic stop are Osby’s constitutions that prevent citizens’ personal information from being released to the government or from illegal searches and seizures. Includes above rights. The experience also causes Osby to distrust the Sheriff’s Department. His complaint is, “No reasonable cop would believe that live-streaming police-citizen encounters on TikTok is appropriate or necessary for the pursuit of justice, the protection of life, or the performance.” because he said, of their law enforcement duties. “
“This is not only a violation of Mr. Osby’s right to privacy, but it also undermines the trust of the Dallas County people in law enforcement agencies responsible for protecting them,” Roberts told Ars. .
