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A running, sourced timeline of how license-plate readers, body cams and AI policing tools are actually going — and what the failures cost taxpayers.

Timeline / entry

· Detroit, MI

Detroit man sues police for wrongful arrest based on facial recognition

On this date, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the Detroit Police Department on behalf of Robert Williams, described as the first US person wrongfully arrested based on facial recognition. Williams was arrested in 2019 after a facial recognition system matched a grainy security image to his driver’s license photo. Police showed a photo lineup to a security guard who had not witnessed the shoplifting, and the guard selected Williams. He spent 30 hours in detention. The prosecutor’s office later apologized. The lawsuit alleges police used unreliable facial recognition despite known racial bias. A second man, Michael Oliver, sued last year.

Also in Detroit, MI

3 entries over 4 yr, oldest first. The gap is the time since the previous one.

  1. Detroit man sues police for wrongful arrest based on facial recognition this entry
  2. +3 yr 3 moDetroit pays $300,000 to first person known to be wrongly arrested on a face-recognition match
  3. +9 monthsDetroit to pay $35K after license plate reader error prompts wrongful detainment of mom, toddler

Sources

  1. Detroit man sues police for wrongful arrest based on facial recognition | The Verge — The Verge, Apr 13, 2021 (theverge.com)

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