Although there have been severe concerns raised by conservatives about the increase in technology in our lives- they can often be life-saving. In 2017, a man from New Mexico was arrested by the police for abusing his girlfriend physically- after Amazon Alexa called law enforcement. The 28-year-old Eduardo Barros became quite enraged with his girlfriend while they were house-sitting about 15 miles east of Albuquerque.
Editors Note: This story is from June 2017
The dispute, which was until then verbal, soon turned physical on July 2nd. During the physical assault, the man also took out a firearm and waving it before his girlfriend, screamed, “Did you call the sheriffs?” This question set off Alexa who recognized the phrase as a command and called 911. This was confirmed by the Deputy Sheriff of Bernalillo County- Felicia Romero.
KRQE reported that the argument started when Barros’s girlfriend received a text message. The message prompted him to accuse her of cheating on him. According to the affidavit published by The Post, “Barros told her she was not going anywhere and he was going to kill her. When 911 called her phone, Barros saw the caller ID and threw her to the floor. Barros then kicked her while on the ground at least 10 times in the face and stomach. Barros told the victim that he could not believe the cops had been called and he was not going back to prison and that she knew he was a felon. The victim stated she thought she was going to be killed or shot.” [1]
Alexa Calls Law Enforcement And Prevents A Woman From Getting Killed By Her Deranged Boyfriend
Romero also informed ABC News that the responding deputies did manage to remove the victim and her daughter from the home after Alexa called the cops. Although the victim did receive some minor injuries, she was not hospitalized. The daughter was not harmed by Barros. The convicted felon was later detained after a SWAT team and a crisis negotiation team were called up to the house.
He was then charged with possession of a firearm, false imprisonment, aggravated battery, and held without bail. The Sheriff of the county, Manuel Gonzales III appreciated the utility of Alexa in such a situation. “The unexpected use of this new technology to contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life. This amazing technology definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation.”
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Alexa Has A Lot More Security Feature
The approval from law enforcement implies that Alexa can be used for emergency situations. And one needs to tweak it a bit before so that they are not flat-footed during an emergency. According to digital trends, it is not exactly difficult to raise the levels of home security on an Alexa. You can also receive emergency notifications from the AI while you are away from home. One simply needs to enable Guard with Alexa.
For this, go to the Settings option on Alexa, and then choose Guard. It is going to ask you a few questions which would outline the features that you want- like listening for suspicious sounds and identifying breaking glass noises. After you end up customizing it to your liking, Alexa will then start sending notifications to your smartphone. You can also pair this option with other security systems that use Alexa in order to maintain a semblance of blanket security in your household. [2]
Alexa Is Not The Only One
Interestingly, even the latest iPhone has been doing something similar to Alexa. The iPhone 14 has been calling emergency services from the pockets of people that have been riding rollercoasters in the United States. It does seem that the phone believes that the bumps on the rollercoaster are car crashes. One user on Twitter, Joanna Stern stated, “Since the iPhone 14 went on sale, the 911 dispatch center near Kings Island amusement park has received at least six phone calls saying: ‘The owner of this iPhone was in a severe car crash…’ Except, the owner was just on a roller coaster.” [3]
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Sources
- “Alexa calls cops on man allegedly beating his girlfriend.” NY Post. Joshua Rhett Miller. June 10, 2017.
- “Can Alexa call 911? How to set up Alexa for emergencies.” Digital Trends. Erika Rawes. March 24, 2021.
- “iPhones calling 911 from owners’ pockets on rollercoasters.” The Guardian. Oliver Holmes and Gloria Oladipo. October 11, 2022.