Cops arrest man for arson based on data from his pacemaker.
Ross Compton was arrested in early February for arson after the data from his pacemaker told a drastically different story than the one he told investigators after his house burned down.
Compton told police that when he noticed the fire, he packed some belongings and then escaped through a window. After reviewing the pacemaker data, a cardiologist said it was “highly improbable” that someone in Compton’s condition could do all of that in such a short amount of time. This opinion was further bolstered by the fact that investigators determined that the fire had multiple origins, and that Compton’s clothes had gasoline on them…
But aside from Compton’s poorly-constructed plan, how do we feel about law enforcement going through the pacemaker data? (Let’s assume for a minute that they got a warrant before pulling the data.) Should this type of data be on the table for law enforcement to access? Or is it private health information that should remain completely private no matter what?
