Detroit to compensate $300,000 to wrongly accused man, implements changes to facial recognition technology

The city of Detroit has agreed to pay $300,000 to Robert Williams, a man who was wrongly accused of shoplifting, as part of a lawsuit settlement. This payment comes after Williams’ driver’s license photo was incorrectly identified as a match to a man seen on security video at a Shinola watch store in 2018. Williams, who is Black, has been an advocate for changes in how facial recognition technology is used by law enforcement.

Under the terms of the settlement announced by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at University of Michigan law school, Detroit police will be prohibited from arresting individuals solely based on facial recognition results. Additionally, arrests will not be made based on photo lineups generated from facial recognition searches. The ACLU argues that facial recognition technology is flawed and racially biased.

Although Williams expressed hope for a world without the use of facial recognition technology, the settlement aims to ensure that police use additional evidence and conduct traditional police work before making an arrest based on facial recognition results. The agreement also requires Detroit police to review cases from 2017 to 2023 where facial recognition was used and notify the prosecutor if an arrest was made without independent evidence.

The settlement follows a similar case last August when Chief James White announced new policies regarding the use of facial recognition technology after a pregnant woman was wrongly charged with carjacking. The policies stated that there must be corroborating evidence beyond facial recognition results to establish a suspect’s involvement in a crime. The ACLU emphasizes the importance of preventing pressure on individuals to plead guilty when faced with charges based solely on facial recognition scans and lineup results.