A federal lawsuit filed against the Reno Police Department alleges that officers have made thousands of unlawful arrests by treating facial recognition matches as sufficient grounds for probable cause without any corroborating evidence. The amended complaint, filed April 2, 2026, names Officer Richard Jager and the city of Reno as defendants. Federal Judge Miranda Du previously allowed the city to be added.
Plaintiff Jason Killinger was arrested at the Peppermill Casino in Reno after the casino’s facial recognition system flagged him as a 100 percent match for a person banned from the property. Killinger had three forms of identification, including a Real ID, and offered to retrieve additional ID from his vehicle. Neither detail appeared in Jager’s arrest report, which the lawsuit alleges falsely claimed Killinger presented conflicting identification.
The case fits a documented pattern of false arrest cases tied to facial recognition misuse and echoes the wrongful arrest settlement that forced policy changes at Detroit Police, where officers similarly used a match without required corroborating evidence.
As of the start of this month, the Reno Police Department had no policy stating that a facial recognition match alone is insufficient to establish probable cause. A 2017 U.S. Department of Justice policy template characterizes such matches as “advisory in nature” that “do not establish probable cause.” The gap reflects the patchwork of state facial recognition laws that leaves many jurisdictions unregulated; Nevada has not enacted comparable restrictions.
Attorney Terri Keyser-Cooper, representing Killinger, stated that “Jager’s conduct was not a sporadic incident involving the wrongful actions of a rogue employee, but the result of a widespread custom and practice involving hundreds of municipal employees making thousands of arrests in the same manner over a period of years.”
After a fingerprint check at Washoe County jail confirmed Killinger’s identity, city prosecutors filed a criminal complaint under the name “John Doe” and a municipal judge found probable cause for trespass. City attorney Jill Drake kept the case open after dismissal and referred the matter to an RPD fraud detective, who sided with Killinger, finding no identity theft and that the Peppermill had made an error. A Reno sergeant later told Jager there was probable cause for an identity theft charge; Jager declined to proceed.
The lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of police departments operating facial recognition outside authorized limits. The complaint seeks punitive damages, compensation for injuries Killinger sustained while handcuffed, and attorney’s fees. A jury trial has been requested; no date has been set. The city did not respond to a request for comment. The city attorney’s office maintains Jager followed correct protocol.
Sources: Reno Gazette Journal
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By Ji-seo Kim
