DPD Chief: False arrest of pregnant woman not due to face recognition but human error

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The false arrest of a pregnant woman accused in a carjacking by Detroit police has led to a lawsuit. But Detroit Police Chief James White isn't blaming the case on faulty facial recognition software - instead a mistaken investigator.

"There have been many reports that the individual arrested was because of misidentification of facial recognition," White said. "And that is factually incorrect. That is not the case."

White held a press conference responding to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Porcha Woodruff. She is the pregnant mother of two who was frisked, handcuffed and taken into custody for a carjacking she did not commit.  

Her attorney blamed a hit from an old photo of her, by the facial recognition software.

"The arrest was a result of a violation of our eyewitness identification and lineup policy," the chief said. "The arrest happened after that violation occurred which resulted in a misleading lineup, and a misleading photo lineup."

White says the mix-up stems from a January carjacking. Investigators grabbed a still picture from a gas station’s surveillance system, but did not dot the"Is" and cross the "Ts".

Woodruff was eight months pregnant when cops surprised her with a warrant.

"I wasn't here - I don't know this person - I don't know if I can say what I want to say, but what the hell?" she said. "Seriously?"

The chief went into more detail about what went wrong.

"DPD policies clearly state that members are to avoid the use of photos that so closely resemble the suspect, that a person familiar with the suspect, might find it difficult to distinguish the suspect from other individuals presented in the lineup," White said. "And the reason for that is, if you use a facial recognition photo ...  If you were to put my photo in facial recognition it’s not just going to produce my photo, it’s going to produce a number of people who could possibly be me.

"And if you were to then take that photo and put it into a lineup as I indicated earlier, then it is possible to taint the photo lineup.

"In other words, you don’t want to put the suspect’s twin in a lineup, right? Because if you don’t know the person, you’re going to pick them out."

Woodruff said the traumatizing arrest took place right in front of her two daughters.

"They're like - my mom is going to jail, mom, you're pregnant, what is going on? They were scared," she said. "They're still scared."

As a result of the incident, there will be some new Detroit police practices. The chief says that lineup photos will be separated for independent verification, also a supervisor will be required to make sure the suspect has the means to carry out the crime.

In other words, as in this case, making sure the suspect is not eight months pregnant.

Top left: Porcha Woodruff being arrested. Middle: DPD Chief James White. Top right: Porcha Woodruff