Denver Pays Millions After Erroneous Raid Based on Apple's Find My App Leads to Wrongful Search

Apple's Find My App Misleads Police, Costs Denver Millions in Damages

The city of Denver, Colorado, has been ordered to pay \$3.76 million in compensation and damages after its police department conducted a flawed raid based on information from Apple's Find My app. The incident, which occurred in 2022, involved the wrongful search of an elderly woman's home in pursuit of a stolen truck and firearms.

According to CNN reports, the Denver police were attempting to locate a stolen truck containing guns, ammunition, and cash. They utilized Apple's Find My technology on an iPhone to pinpoint the vehicle's location. However, the police targeted the wrong residence, initiating a raid on the home of 78-year-old Ruby Johnson.

As a result of the mistaken raid, Ruby Johnson filed a lawsuit against the police department. The \$3.76 million settlement is intended to compensate her for the damages incurred. In addition to the city, the involved officers, Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy, were also named as individual defendants. While the Denver police had initially cleared both officers of any wrongdoing, the jury ultimately disagreed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented Johnson in the case. The lawsuit argued that the raid was carried out 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."

The complaint further explained that the police relied on a "Find My" ping from an iPhone 11, presumably still inside the stolen truck. However, the identified area encompassed portions of six other properties spread across four city blocks.

Attorney Tim Macdonald, representing Johnson, stated, "We are disturbed by the lack of training or policy changes and hope that the amount of the punitive damages award will send a strong message that the police department must take seriously the constitutional rights of its residents."

The ACLU and the jury concluded that the two police officers who ordered the raid lacked sufficient justification to single out Johnson's house as the target.

The officers are individually liable for nearly \$1.25 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. As of now, the city has not filed an appeal against the verdict, according to a Denver District Court clerk.