 "Google will replace aerial imagery in Maps that shows teen's murder scene")
After an uproar over showing an alleged aerial view of a murder scene on Google Maps, the company has assured that it is working to delete the image from its service. The image allegedly showed the scene of the crime in the San Francisco Bay Area of Richmond in the US.
The murder allegedly being shown in the aerial picture was of Kevin Barrera, a 14-year-old who was found shot to death on August 15, 2009 near railroad tracks in the city. The imagery found in Google Maps reportedly shows the teenager’s body on the ground even while police officials examined the scene of the crime.
The alleged scene of the crime as seen on teh satellite view of Google Maps
The matter came to light when the boy’s father Jose recognised the scene of crime and his son’s body. He said that he would petition Google to have the photo removed. What makes the matter more heart-wrenching for Barrera is the fact that Kevin’s murder had never been solved. “When I see this image, that’s still like that happened yesterday,” Barrera told KTVU-TV over the weekend. “And that brings me back to a lot of memories.”
Google, in a statement, told CNET that it intended to replace the image soon. “Our hearts go out to the family of this young boy. Since the media first contacted us about the image, we’ve been looking at different technical solutions. Google has never accelerated the replacement of updated satellite imagery from our maps before, but given the circumstances we wanted to make an exception in this case,” said Brian McClendon, Vice President of Google Maps. “We believe we can update this in eight days, and we’ve spoken to the family to let them know we’re working hard on the update.”
The overhead aerial images that Google displays are typically supposed to be one to three years old, although the company tries to update them as regularly as possible. Google also provides street view functionality gathered by Google using cameras mounted on cars, tricycles and even snowmobiles. Some images have raised privacy concerns in the past. Google, however, has a technology in place that automatically blurs license plates and people’s faces. It also allows users to report concerns about the images. What must be noted is that there is no similar reporting feature for overhead imagery like this one.
(With inputs from agencies)
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
