( CNN ) For the fifth year in a row in 2014 , ambush attacks on police officers were the No . 1 cause of felonious deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty . Nevertheless , Google continues to market a smartphone application that lets lawbreakers pinpoint the location of police officers in the field . Google 's executives wo n't even discuss the subject with organizations representing law enforcement . Google 's popular real-time traffic app , Waze , uses GPS navigation and crowdsourcing to alert users to traffic jams , automobile accidents , stalled cars , and through its `` traffic cop '' feature , the presence of law enforcement . Most people undoubtedly use Waze 's police-finding feature to avoid traffic tickets , but the app poses an enormous risk to deputies and police officers . In the days before he assassinated New York police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu at point blank range while they sat in their patrol car last December , Ismaaiyl Brinsley is known to have used the Waze application to monitor the movements of police officers . The killer identified the location of police on his own Waze account and even posted screen captures to Instagram . While Google ( which acquired Waze in 2013 for a reported $ 1.1 billion ) claims the app `` is all about contributing to the 'common good ' out there on the road , '' the risks far outweigh the potential benefits . Every day , thousands of police officers and deputies enforce traffic laws , execute arrest and search warrants , investigate domestic violence complaints and perform countless tasks that are needed to keep our neighborhoods safe and remove criminals from the streets . It takes just a couple of clicks on Waze 's `` traffic cop '' icon to identify their locations and indicate whether -- in the opinion of the anonymous user -- the officer is `` visible '' or `` invisible . '' At that moment , the officer or deputy becomes an identifiable target whose whereabouts are available to any one of Waze 's 50 million users worldwide . Social media has made enormous contributions to law enforcement as a `` force multiplier '' that lets citizens help police protect our communities . As we have seen with the emergence of crimes like identity theft , however , technology has the potential for evil as well as good . In the case of Waze , we are confronted with a tool that can be lethal to police officers and deputies , whose roles in society are to protect our citizens and enforce the laws that keep our communities safe . Google , whose stated mission is `` to organize the world 's information and make it universally accessible and useful , '' is now marketing an app with the potential to obstruct law enforcement and put the lives of police officers and deputies at risk . Even the more benign uses of Waze 's `` traffic cop '' feature are concerning . In 2013 , 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-related automobile accidents . And in 2011 , 9,944 people lost their lives in speed-related fatal crashes . Is the highest , best use of Google 's geo-mapping and crowdsourcing capabilities to help drunk drivers avoid checkpoints and give speeders assistance in evading speed limits ? It 's not just the speeders and drunk drivers who have access to the locations of police officers through Google 's technology . Perpetrators of domestic violence can use it to find out about the presence of law enforcement in a spouse 's neighborhood ; gang members , narcotics dealers , even those intent on perpetrating an act of terror , all have access to Waze 's `` traffic cop '' feature . Google has built a solid reputation as a good corporate neighbor , tying for first place in a 2013 study by the Reputation Institute measuring companies ' reputations for corporate social responsibility . The company makes much of its compliance with legal , moral and ethical obligations as a good corporate neighbor . But when it comes to Waze , Google has gone into a defensive crouch . The company 's executives flat out refused to discuss the subject with representatives of the National Sheriffs ' Association , an organization representing more than 3,000 sheriff 's offices across the United States . The refusal of Google 's executives to even dignify our concerns by meeting with us offends our conscience . If Google 's real objective is the `` common good out there on the road , '' it will work with us to ensure the safety of both motorists and police officers . The goals are not mutually exclusive : we can have both .
David A. Clarke Jr. and Jonathan Thompson : Why does Google have an app that ambushes police ? The answer is simple: to make it easier for the government to track down people who are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.