A Georgia man has filed a lawsuit claiming facial recognition technology led to his wrongful arrest after he was accused of theft in a state he’s never visited.
29-year-old Randal Quran Reid, who prefers going by Quran, was pulled over on the side of a busy Georgia interstate as he was driving to his mother's house the day after Thanksgiving. Law enforcement accused him of crimes committed in Louisiana, crimes Quran says he did not commit. The crimes included using a stolen credit card to purchase two purses over $8,000 from a consignment store near New Orleans.
Quran detailed his ordeal with the Associated Press, explaining, “I was confused and I was angry because I didn’t know what was going on. They couldn't give me any information outside of, ‘You’ve got to wait for Louisiana to come take you,' and there was no timeline on that.”
Quran and his legal team accuse law enforcement of relying on faulty facial recognition software that has been known to inaccurately recognize the identity of Black people as compared to lighter-skinned individuals. The lawsuit details that Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto and Detective Andrew Bartholomew misused the facial recognition software to make their arrest.
The lawsuit explains that Batholomew used an image of the suspect pulled from surveillance footage of the crime and fed those images to software that uses facial recognition software to determine an individual’s identity. In the affidavit seeking the arrest warrant, Bartholomew includes still photos from the surveillance footage and details that a “credible source” directed him to Quran. However, Quran’s attorney, Sam Starks, shares that the “source” was likely the faulty facial recognition software.
The lawsuit maintains, “Bartholomew did not conduct even a basic search into Mr. Reid, which would have revealed that Mr. Reid was in Georgia when the theft occurred.”
Quran spent a week in jail and during this time, his family hired legal representation in Lousiana. This legal team was able to present images and videos of Quran to the sheriff’s office. Quran was notably heavier than the actual suspect in the surveillance footage. After a week of being detained, the sheriff's office asked a judge to withdraw the warrant, and Quran was released.
In addition to the false arrest, Quran’s lawsuit accuses the sheriff and the deputy of malicious prosecution and negligence. Sheriff Lopinto is accused of failing to implement stronger policies regarding the use of facial recognition software, policies that would have prevented the wrongful arrest.
Quran’s case is not an isolated incident. At least four other Black individuals have filed similar lawsuits against law enforcement agencies after they say they were wrongfully arrested because of faulty facial recognition software.
At least three Detriot residents have been falsely arrested, with the most recent victim being Detroit resident Porcha Woodruff. Woodruff, who was pregnant at the time of her ordeal, was arrested at her home and held for over 11 hours by police officers. Woodruff was accused of a robbery she never committed.
Although Detrioit continues to use facial recognition software, many law enforcement agencies have moved away from using such tech in their policing strategies.
Reid, who works as a transportation analyst, says he still struggles with the trauma of the experience. The ordeal caused him mental stress, lost time from work, and other losses. His lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.
