In 2018, an iPhone shortcut called “Police" was created by Redditor Robert Petersen and has since gotten more attention in the wake of back-to-back police killings of Black men removed from their vehicles—George Floyd, Maurice Gordon, Rayshard Brooks, to name three—CNN reported on June 16. Now, the shortcut has been updated to respond to, "Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over."
"I just wanted a way for anyone to have proof of their version of events in the unlikely scenario that something unexpected happens during a police interaction," Petersen told KCTV last year. "And if 1 in 10,000 people find my shortcut useful at all, I’d be glad."
To use the shortcut, available only on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, users first have to install the download and then set it up. According to the developer’s site, once Siri is given the prompt, the app will pause any music playing, turn down the phone’s brightness, turn on Do Not Disturb, and allow the person to send a message to a designated contact that they are being pulled over, along with their current location. Next, it opens the phone’s camera to start recording video and sends the video to the contact. The app also allows users to save the file in iCloud or Dropbox.
The shortcut, unfortunately, has been buggy and isn’t very intuitive to set up. CNN offered a step-by-step how-to to help drivers out. Peterson wrote on Reddit, after learning that more than 3.5 million people who tried to use the app couldn’t, that the link only works in Safari or directly from an iPhone.
While the app could be added evidence for drivers who have unfortunate or fatal police encounters while driving, below is feedback from some who ran into snags and found workarounds:
Same lol ny siri didn’t know what i was talking about
rn— Thug Passion (@AleemaJai) June 16, 2020
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Same lol ny siri didn’t know what i was talking about
rn— Thug Passion (@AleemaJai) June 16, 2020
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The Siri I’m getting pulled over by police app. Saw this a few years ago. It’s a great idea. Add it to. Your phones. https://t.co/tET4iMybpB
rn— Corliss Thornton (@corlisspt) June 16, 2020
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@byalicialee Your article on the I’m getting pulled over has instructions that don’t seem to work. I can’t find the shortcut in the Shortcuts app
rn— John Earl (@tuscaloosaearl) June 17, 2020
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