appleFind My App cost the city of Denver $3.76 million. Indemnification and damages. In 2022, city police mistakenly raid and ransack an elderly woman’s home in search of a stolen truck and guns.
According to a CNN report Denver Police They were trying to recover a stolen truck loaded with guns, ammunition and cash. For this, the police used Apple’s Find My technology on the other. iPhone To locate the vehicle. However, the police picked the wrong house from a wide enough area to catch the thieves.
Because of this misplaced raid, the 78-year-old Ruby Johnson A case was registered against the police. As compensation, the city will pay Johnson a $3.76 million award.
Additionally, the defendant officers—Detective Gary Staub and Sgt. Gregory Buschi was also prosecuted as an individual. Denver police had previously cleared both men of wrongdoing, but a jury disagreed.
How Apple’s Find My App Played a Role
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case on Johnson’s behalf. The lawsuit states that the raid was “executed based on an alleged location ping from an iPhone’s Find My app that the officers did not understand and had no training for.”
According to the complaint, police relied on a “Find My” ping from an iPhone 11 that may still be in the stolen truck. However, the area identified includes portions of six other properties in sections of four city blocks.
In a statement, Johnson’s attorneys Tim McDonald He said: “We are concerned about the lack of training or changes in policy and hope that the amount of the punitive damages award will send a strong message that the police department must take the constitutional rights of its residents seriously.”
The ACLU and the jury concluded that the two police officers who ordered the raid had no reason to target Johnson’s home.
In addition, the officers must pay approximately $1.25 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. A Denver District Court clerk noted that the city has not yet filed an appeal of the ruling.
