Detroit Police Change FRT Policies After Wrongful Arrest Settlement

The city of Detroit has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by Robert Williams, a Black man wrongfully arrested for shoplifting, resulting in significant changes to how the Detroit Police Department (DPD) uses facial recognition technology.

Williams was wrongfully arrested at his Farmington Hills home in 2020 after being accused of stealing watches from the Shinola store in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood in 2018. His driver’s license photo was flagged by facial recognition software as a likely match to the suspect seen in security video footage from the theft.

Williams’ photo and five others were presented to a loss-prevention worker, who incorrectly identified him as the suspect. This led to Williams’ arrest in front of his wife and two young daughters.

Reflecting on the incident, Williams shared in a release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) how the wrongful arrest had devastating effects on his family, highlighting the emotional toll it took on his children.

“My wife and young daughters had to watch helplessly as I was arrested for a crime I didn’t commit and by the time I got home from jail, I had already missed my youngest losing her first tooth and my eldest couldn’t even bear to look at my picture,” he said.

As part of the settlement, the DPD will change its use of facial recognition technology. Under the new guidelines, Detroit police are prohibited from making arrests based solely on facial recognition results and cannot arrest individuals using a lineup of photos generated from such searches.

Police officers will also receive training on the technology, including its potential risks. All cases since 2017 involving facial recognition technology used to obtain arrest warrants will be reviewed.

The changes come in the wake of other wrongful arrests linked to facial recognition technology. Last year, Detroit Police Chief James White announced new policies after the wrongful arrest of Porcha Woodruff, an eight-months-pregnant woman, in a robbery and carjacking case. Chief White emphasized that there must be corroborative evidence beyond facial recognition to justify an arrest, acknowledging that mistakes in such cases have serious consequences.

Source: CBS News

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July 3, 2024 – by Ali Nassar-Smith