Denver Grandmom To Receive $3.76 Million After Police Mistakenly Raided Her Home Using Apple’s ‘Find My’ Feature
The city of Denver has been ordered to pay a significant sum of $3.76 million to a 78-year-old woman, Ruby Johnson, after a police raid on her home went awry due to the misuse of Apple’s Find My technology.
What Happened:
The incident occurred in January 2022 when Denver police utilized the ‘Find My’ feature on an iPhone to locate a stolen truck carrying firearms. Regrettably, the police erroneously targeted Johnson’s residence, resulting in a wrongful raid and extensive damage to her property, as per CNN.
Even though Denver police cleared Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy, the officers involved, of any misconduct, a jury ruled in favor of Johnson. The city will be responsible for the $3.76 million settlement, despite the officers being individually sued.
Johnson’s lawyer, Tim Macdonald, raised concerns about the lack of police department training or policy alterations and hopes the substantial punitive damages will emphasize the importance of safeguarding residents’ constitutional rights.
We are disturbed by the lack of training or policy changes and hope that the amount of the punitive damages award will send a strong message that the police department must take seriously the constitutional rights of its residents, stated Macdonald.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing Johnson, emphasized that the raid was based on an alleged location ping from an iPhone’s Find My app, which the officers were not well-versed in and had no training for. The ACLU and the jury concluded that the officers had no valid reason to target Johnson’s home.
Each officer is held accountable for approximately $1.25 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Why It Matters:
The Find My app faced scrutiny last year when Apple’s faulty Maps data led to individuals converging at a single Texas address in search of their lost iPhones.
Despite controversies, the Find My feature has been instrumental in assisting law enforcement. In a separate December 2022 incident, the technology helped police recover allegedly stolen AirPods from a Canadian hotel.
Find My was also pivotal in a case where an iPhone owner employed it to reclaim their stolen device from a Walmart Inc. EcoATM kiosk.
In closing, the mishap that led to Johnson’s wrongful police raid sheds light on the importance of proper training and understanding of technology within law enforcement agencies.
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