Periscope, Twitter's live-video streaming application, launched less than a year ago both on iPhone and Androids has led to people getting into trouble with the law. Arrests were made after concerned viewers of the live feed informed authorities about the broadcast.
Washington Post reported that a lot of people were alarmed while watching a Periscope stream and called police in Florida on Saturday night. They were watching a young woman live broadcasting herself driving drunk, according to the Lakeland Police Department. Whitney Beall, 23, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence when she broadcasted herself drunk driving. Viewers tried to stop Beall, who repeatedly said she had a flat tire, didn't know where she was and that she was drunk, according to police.
"As a result of the video being streamed worldwide, a large amount of text messages were sent to the driver asking her to pull over before she killed someone or herself," the police said in a statement. One officer even downloaded Periscope on his personal phone to see the feed, since the app is blocked on department phones, according to police.
The feed continuously went in and out, but some details from the feed helped them track down Beall who was driving with a flat tire. Her Toyota Corolla "abruptly" hit a curb just as police officers tried to pull her over. According to police officers at the scene, her speech was slurred and that she "appeared to be disoriented." Beall refused a breathalyzer and also failed field sobriety tests.
The streaming of video highlights the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol through the eyes of a drunk and irresponsible young adult, police said in a statement. "The Lakeland Police Department is immensely thankful that this event did not result in an accident and no one was injured as a result of her poor decision," they added.
