AppleThe Find My app cost the city of Denver $3.76 million in compensation and damages. In 2022, the city police unjustly raided the home of an elderly woman in search of a stolen truck and guns.
According to a report by CNN, Denver police they were trying to recover a stolen truck loaded with guns, ammunition and money. For this, the police used Apple’s Find My technology in another iPhone to locate the vehicle. However, the police chose the wrong house out of a wide enough area to raid and catch the thieves.
Because of this misplaced raid, 78 years Ruby Johnson filed a lawsuit against the police. As compensation, the city will pay Johnson an award of $3.76 million.
In addition, the accused officers – Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy – were also sued as an individual. Denver police had previously cleared the two men of wrongdoing, but the jury disagreed.
How the Apple Find My app played a role
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case on Johnson’s behalf. The lawsuit said the raid was conducted based on “an alleged location ping from an iPhone’s Find My app that the officers did not understand and for which they had no training.”
According to the complaint, police relied on a “Find My” ping from an iPhone 11 that was likely still in the stolen truck. However, the identified area included parts of six other properties within four city blocks.
In a statement, Johnson’s attorney Tim Macdonald said, “We are disturbed by the lack of training or policy changes and hope that the amount of the punitive damage 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 choose Johnson’s home as the target.
In addition, the officers must pay nearly $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 verdict.
