Cameras zoomed in on a SWAT officer during a tense standoff and revealed he was on a dating app

A tense police standoff in California took a turn when aerial footage showed a SWAT deputy doing something unexpected. On April 8, in Jurupa Valley, deputies were in pursuit of a suspect who later ended up in a car crash. The SWAT team surrounded the suspect's car and were locked in a standoff for hours before things escalated, according to CBS LA. Despite the tense situation, one SWAT deputy still had the time to use a dating app on his phone.

According to the aerial footage caught by CBS LA, the deputy was hiding behind an armored vehicle that was a few feet from the suspect's car. They were waiting for the suspect to surrender. Instead of being vigilant, the deputy was seen scrolling through a dating app, checking out women's profiles. The video has gone viral, and the officer is receiving backlash from netizens for his actions in a high-risk scenario. 

Chad Biano, the Riverside County Sherrif condemed his deputy's actions. He assured the public that the deputy has been identified and that they will take accountability for his actions. Riverside County has yet to announce what disciplinary action it will take against the SWAT deputy, but it has released a statement. It reads, "This behavior does not reflect the standards, expectations, or policies of our department. We have initiated an internal investigation and will take appropriate action based on the findings. The Sheriff's Office remains committed to professionalism and holding our employees accountable." 

In today's world, police officers need access to a cell phone for work purposes. However, police departments cannot provide every officer with a work phone because of how expensive it is. While citizens are protected by the Fourth Amendment, it works a little differently for officers. In Camara v. Municipal Court of City and County of San Francisco, the court allows a search on an officer's personal phone if it is reasonable. There has to be a valid reason before a search is conducted.

As for the SWAT deputy, whether he is using a work phone or a personal phone, an investigation will be conducted because he was clearly using it for personal purposes and not work-related. An American Psychological Association study was conducted on 6,075 officers across more than 150 municipalities for a span of five years. The purpose of the study was to see how officers with pre-hire misbehavior fared at work. The results showed that officers with a previous record of misconduct were over six times more likely to be fired again, compared to those with clean records.

The comment section was a mix of opinions. On one side, people did not really care if the deputy was using his phone at work, questioning the quality of the news. On the other hand, people found it hilarious that the officer was using a dating app in a high-risk case. @NoSpillsChills commented, "Why is this a big deal? He’s protected behind the truck, and they rotate." @julo514 unbelievably wrote, "There's no way this is news."

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