The Siri Shortcut “I’m Getting Pulled Over” Automatically Opens Your Camera And Records Cops

I’ve found living in the days of COVD-19 a little dystopic. The eerie 1984esque announcements about the number of deaths are unsettling. However, nothing we’ve faced during the pandemic seems as threatening as the out and out brutal death of George Floyd. Watching what happened at his arrest leaves me speechless. Yet the slightest hope returned with scenes of protestors taking to the streets even with the risk of the virus still out there. Until police started openly attacking them that is. This makes it clear something is still very wrong. The Siri shortcut “I’m getting pulled over by police” aims to help. (1)

Getting Pulled Over

A new app allows users to simply say, “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over,” to automatically turn on the front-facing camera and start recording video. Not only does it turn off music and go into automatic “Do Not Disturb” mode, but it also sends a message you can pre-set and send to one of your contacts so they know where you are and what is happening. (1)

Voice Activated When Getting Pulled Over

This is not new, as the app was created by Robert Petersen back in 2018. What is new is the ability to simply call on Siri to set the wheels in motion to capture everything happening during a police interaction. It makes it easy for people to safely activate their video recording using “I’m being pulled over” as a voice-activated request. (1)

“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,” says Petersen. “And if 1 in 10,000 people find my shortcut useful at all I’d be glad.” (1)

Getting Pulled Over Recording Legal

Peterson also considered what might happen if the officer decides he’s not happy with someone recording the video. The video will automatically be uploaded to your iCloud or Dropbox account. This way a copy remains available even if the police try to delete it from your phone. (1)

“This just…records things. That’s perfectly Constitutional to record police, and if they are doing their jobs as they should be there’s no problem for them,” says Petersen defending the feature on Twitter. “I’ll add that I’ve talked to some officers and none of them have had any issue with it at all.” (2)

How To Download Getting Pulled Over Shortcut

Here’s how you can download the app that will make the recording possible (3):

First, you have to install the Shortcuts iOS app.
Once you do that, download the I’m Getting Pulled Over shortcut by going to Settings > Shortcuts > and switching on Allow Untrusted Shortcuts.