Location: New York City
Was arrested last year and NYPD confiscated my phone as evidence. Went to all my court appearances and charges were dropped to disorderly conduct. Lawyer asked the District Attorney for phone back. The DA asked me to sign a waiver that they can return the phone provided the phone does a factory reset. I signed this document and now they are saying NYPD needs my Apple ID and password to do the reset.
My lawyer says they have verbally agreed to not look at the phone data but it’s not legally binding.
There is some incriminating evidence on the phone. Should I trust that they won’t look through the phone? Could I be brought up in charges?
Comments
No. You should not trust the police. Yes, if you haven’t been charged with something, you could still be charged.
If they really need it reset, then you ought to be able to do that remotely.
You don’t say how serious this incriminating evidence is. Driving with a BAC of 0.09 is not the same thing as murder. But I’d never agree to unlock; I’d absolutely consider the phone gone if you can’t do a remote wipe.