Denver Pays Millions After Faulty 'Find My' App Data Leads to Wrongful Raid

The Find My app from Apple has resulted in a significant financial burden for the city of Denver, amounting to $3.76 million in compensation and damages. This stems from a mistaken police raid in 2022, where officers wrongly targeted the home of an elderly woman while searching for a stolen truck and firearms.

According to CNN, the Denver police were attempting to recover 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 mistakenly raided the wrong residence, leading to a lawsuit filed by 78-year-old Ruby Johnson. As a result, the city is obligated to pay Johnson $3.76 million in damages.

Furthermore, the involved officers, Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy, were also named as individual defendants. Despite initial clearance by the Denver police department, the jury ultimately disagreed.

The Role of Apple's Find My App

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented Johnson in the case. The lawsuit highlighted that the raid was executed based on a misinterpreted "alleged location ping" from an iPhone's Find My app, for which the officers lacked adequate training.

The complaint states that the police relied on a "Find My" signal from an iPhone 11, presumably located within the stolen truck. However, the identified area encompassed portions of six other properties across four city blocks.

Tim Macdonald, Johnson's attorney, expressed concern, stating, "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 officers ordering the raid had no justifiable reason to single out Johnson's residence.

The officers are also 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.