Facial recognition false arrest of man by Detroit police wins settlement

FOX 2 - A settlement was reached in a 2020 wrongful arrest lawsuit tied to the Detroit Police Department's use of facial recognition technology.

Civil Rights advocates are calling the settlement "groundbreaking."  Robert Williams' lawsuit has triggered a review of facial recognition software by DPD, as a result.

Williams was wrongfully arrested by DPD in 2020 because of the camera technology.

"The more they say they’re transparent, the more I say they’re holding secrets," said Detroit Police Commissioner Ricardo Moore.

Moore spoke with FOX 2 about the need for more review of facial recognition technology in Detroit.

"I’m certainly not waving the flag of success on this issue because we still have a long way to go - but it is a start," he said.

The accountability Moore has been asking for, looks like it’s on its way.

Robert Williams was wrongfully arrested because of facial recognition software. He was suspected of stealing watches from a store in the city-  but that turned out to be bogus.

Williams was one of several people wrongfully arrested because Detroit police relied on the technology.

"Once you get into the bowels of the facial recognition issue going back to 2017, there will be some issues that pop up," Moore said.

Under the settlement, police won't be able to arrest people based solely on facial recognition results, or on the results of photo lineups directly following a facial recognition search.

But perhaps the biggest win - there will be an audit of all cases since 2017 in which facial recognition technology was used to obtain an arrest warrant.

Hilary Golston, FOX 2: "How many cases are we talking about?"

"We’re talking about dozens," Moore said. "This sets a hardline, a great cornerstone for the federal government to interview and investigate exactly what’s taking place with facial recognition with the Detroit Police Department."

Related:

• Accuracy of DPD facial recognition tech under fire after dropped charges
• Facial recognition software blasted by DPD board of commissioners after recent false arrest
• Lawsuit filed against Detroit police after controversial facial recognition leads to arrest of wrong person
• Farmington Hills man misidentified by facial recognition technology testifies at Congressional hearing

Detroit police sent a statement which reads in part: "At the time of Mr. Williams' arrest, Department members were being guided by general policies governing technology, suspect identification, and arrest protocols.

"Following the incident, the Department created a policy specific to facial recognition that included three independent sign offs before being approved for use in an investigation.

"The policy also makes it clear that a facial recognition match can only be used as a tip to further an investigation, and that it cannot be used as the basis for someone being named as a suspect in an investigation."