A Florida woman was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after users on the live video streaming app ‘Periscope’ called police warning she was intoxicated.
Lakeland (Florida) police responded to a report that a woman was driving drunk while live streaming her impaired driving on the Periscope app. The female driver was identified as Whitney Beall, age 23. She narrated her driving saying she was “drunk” and “f**king drunk” while police attempted to identify landmarks out her vehicle window.
Although many police departments have Facebook and Twitter accounts, Lakeland Police Department like many police department don’t have a Periscope account. However, one police officer took the initiative to personally download the free app owned by Twitter. The app is not considered an authorized app of the Lakeland Police Department.
Periscope users have the option to tweet out a link to their Live Stream, and they can also choose whether or not to make their video public or limit the live stream to specific users. Beall apparently had the app configured to broadcast the live stream to the public.
Police were to identify landmarks in the area from the background of the streaming video and they located Beall eastbound on Carpenters Way. Beall was driving a 2015 Toyota Corolla, 4-door with a flat left front tire.
She was stopped, given a field sobriety test, arrested and transported in custody to Polk County Jail for suspected DUI processing.