Oversharing’s nothing new in our day and age, but its damning ability to instantly digitally indict someone sure makes things easier for the police. As the Chron’s Matier & Ross report, SFPD has apparently joined Instagram and are finding tons of exhibitionist criminals to follow.
When police responded to a call about an armed man riding Muni near Third and Palou, the suspect evaded the police, but left a gun in a nearby planter. According to M&R, shortly thereafter SFPD arrested their allegedly gun-tossing suspect on 14 weapons charges after spying an Instagrammed photo of discarded weapon.
Police have also been following the Instagram account of at least one man they believe is a member of Zoo Block, a somewhat notorious gang with ties to the Bayview and Potrero Hill areas. After the man posted a photo that struck an officer as suspicious, police headed to the area the photo was taken, at which point the Instagrammer “tossed a 9mm pistol into a garbage can and took off running,” the Chron reports.
No word yet on if SFPD believes gang members are using Pinterest, Vine, or (heh) Google+.
