Waze is a simple little traffic app.

It's crowdsourced, so users can report in real-time what's on the road ahead.

Red light cameras? Boom, on your phone.

Construction zones pop up with estimated speeds.

Police officers? They're there too.

If you see a patrol car, it's as easy as hitting a few buttons and your fellow drivers now know to watch out.

It's that which feature has the National Sheriff's Association upset.

In an open letter to Waze and the app's parent company, Google, John Thompson, the deputy executive director of the association, said the group feared the app can be used by someone to “plan or carry out an attack” on law enforcement officers.

But Flagler County's sheriff is a little more pragmatic about applications like Waze. Sure, he would rather not have his deputies whereabouts flashed on an app.

“How do I prevent that?" said Sheriff Jim Manfre. 

"We have a First Amendment in our Constitution that allows free speech and our Constitution allow for interstate commerce," Manfre added. "So it's hard for local a sheriff's office to regulate this.”

Sheriff Manfre's previous work as an attorney may be behind the difference of opinion.

He also pointed out all the ways his own deputies use social media to get their message out, making it difficult to endorse one and not the other.

Another argument against the feature: listing locations will have a negative effect on speed enforcement efforts.

Again, Sheriff Manfre's not sold on that either. “The whole idea is to slow people down. So if the app slows them down as opposed to our deputies' presence, I'm happy that occurs either way,” he said.

We did get a statement from Waze.

Julie Mossler, the Head of Global Communication for Waze wrote:

“We think very deeply about safety and security and work in partnership with the NYPD and other Police and Departments of Transportation all over the world, sharing information on road incidents and closures to help municipalities better understand what's happening in their cities in real time. These relationships keep citizens safe, promote faster emergency response and help alleviate traffic congestion. Police partners support Waze and its features, including reports of police presence, because most users tend to drive more carefully when they believe law enforcement is nearby."