Robert Williams was wrongfully arrested in 2020 when facial recognition software mistakenly identified him as the suspect in a 2018 shoplifting incident. Detroit police detained Williams for over 30 hours, despite the fact that he was innocent.
Williams decided to sue, and recently reached a settlement where he will receive a $300,000 compensation for the wrongful arrest.
An amended complaint filed last year revealed that the decision to arrest Williams was primarily based on facial recognition technology, which the complaint argues is unreliable, especially when identifying Black individuals like Williams.
Despite the flaws in the technology, Detective Donald Bussa relied heavily on it, neglecting to investigate Williams’ alibi or interview store employees. Instead, Bussa used a questionable photo lineup to confirm Williams’ guilt.
After being held for hours, Williams was eventually cleared of any involvement when he pointed out the discrepancies in the surveillance footage. However, it took nearly two weeks for the charges against him to be dropped.
Following the lawsuit, Williams received a $300,000 settlement and the Detroit Police Department agreed to audit all cases involving facial recognition technology. Williams expressed hope for more safeguards in the technology’s use to prevent similar wrongful arrests in the future.
