(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/02/2024) The Detroit Police Department has settled a Farmington Hills father’s lawsuit arising from his wrongful arrest in 2020 based on faulty facial recognition technology.  

As a result, U.S. District Judge Laurie J. Michelson entered an order Friday dismissing the lawsuit filed by Robert Julian-Borchak Williams.  

“The Detroit Police Department’s abuses of facial recognition technology completely upended my life,” Williams said at a Friday press conference. “My wife and young daughters had to watch helplessly as I was arrested for a crime I didn’t commit, and by the time I got home from jail, I had already missed my youngest losing her first tooth and my eldest couldn’t even bear to look at my picture. Even now, years later, it still brings them to tears when they think about it.  

“The scariest part is that what happened to me could have happened to anyone,” he noted. “But, at least with this settlement, it will be far less likely to happen again to another person in Detroit. With this painful chapter of our lives closing, my wife and I will continue raising awareness about the dangers of this technology.”  

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which represents Williams, said the agreement calls for policy changes, including barring officers from making arrests based on facial recognition results alone, as well as from conducting lineups based on facial recognition alone without other independent and reliable evidence linking a suspect to a crime.  

In addition, the ACLU said the agreement includes training on facial recognition that includes risks and dangers of the technology, as well as an audit of all cases since 2017 where Detroit officers used facial recognition to obtain an arrest warrant.  

The federal court retains jurisdiction to ensure compliance for four years, according to the settlement agreement.  

In May, the Detroit City Council approved a $300,000 settlement for Williams, who filed his suit in April 2021 alleging his Fourth Amendment rights were violated and his wrongful arrest was in violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.  

The DPD implemented changes in its photo lineup and facial recognition technology policies after the wrongful arrest of Porcha Woodruff, who was accused in January 2023 of carjacking and robbery she did not commit, according to her August 2023 federal lawsuit, which remains pending.  

Woodruff’s case is tentatively set for a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy in January 2025.  

Additionally, Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) has joined a nationwide group of state legislators calling on Congress to ban and penalize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools discriminating against job applicants in the corporate world.   

“Corporate giants are rapidly adopting AI systems to screen job applicants. But these algorithms often perpetuate and amplify existing biases, discriminating based on race, age, gender, or even zip code,” Wegela said in a political email Tuesday. “This isn't just unfair – it's a direct assault on workers' rights and economic opportunity for millions of Americans. It's clear that we need federal action to ensure AI tools are transparent, accountable, and fair to all workers, regardless of their background.”