Facial recognition jails innocent grandmother, attorney says

Angela Lipps says she had ne'er been to North Dakota. She says she had ne'er adjacent been connected an airplane. That didn't halt the U.S. marshals from showing up astatine her location successful Tennessee and arresting her.

Lipps, a 50-year-old grandma of 5 from Elizabethton, Tennessee, was taken into custody successful July 2025 successful transportation with a slope fraud lawsuit much than 1,000 miles distant successful Fargo, North Dakota. She was not released until astir Christmas Eve, meaning she spent much than 5 months successful custody earlier the lawsuit was dismissed.

Investigators had utilized facial designation bundle to comparison surveillance images from the slope fraud lawsuit with photos of Lipps from her driver's licence and societal media. The result, according to her defence attorney, was a lawsuit that ne'er should person gone this far.  

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HOW SURVEILLANCE TECH LED POLICE TO ACCUSE THE WRONG PERSON

A Tennessee grandma says a facial designation lucifer helped pb to her apprehension successful a North Dakota slope fraud case. (Fargo Police Department)

How facial designation led constabulary to Angela Lipps

The lawsuit began with slope fraud reports successful Fargo and adjacent West Fargo. Police were looking for a fishy who allegedly utilized a mendacious subject ID to instrumentality wealth from accounts.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage and utilized facial designation exertion to hunt for a imaginable match. Then-Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski has described the instrumentality arsenic "an AI relation done the North Dakota State Intelligence Center."

Jay Greenwood, the Fargo defence lawyer appointed to correspond Lipps, joined our "CyberGuy Report" podcast astatine CyberGuyPodcast.com to explicate however a facial designation pb helped acceptable the lawsuit successful motion. His informing was simple: constabulary tin usage facial designation arsenic a tool, but they inactive request to verify what the exertion claims. Greenwood said the images utilized successful the lawsuit were not precisely crystal clear.

"They had information footage of immoderate terribly placed information cameras from above," Greenwood said. "And they had a mates of inactive images, mediocre inactive images from these cameras that they sent to a institution to bash facial recognition."

That hunt pointed investigators to Lipps. Greenwood said detectives past looked astatine her societal media pages and moved guardant with the case. "They did not bash immoderate different probe anterior to her apprehension successful bringing her to North Dakota," Greenwood said. Police past sought an apprehension warrant. Lipps was arrested successful Carter County, Tennessee, and held arsenic a fugitive from justice.

Grandmother arrested astatine gunpoint portion babysitting

Lipps says U.S. marshals arrested her astatine gunpoint portion she was babysitting young children. She was taken to a section jailhouse successful Elizabethton, Tennessee, portion she waited to beryllium extradited to North Dakota.

Greenwood said Lipps told authorities from the opening that she had ne'er been to North Dakota. "She told them I'd ne'er been to North Dakota. I've ne'er been connected an airplane," Greenwood said. "She truly doesn't permission the 100 to 200 mile radius of Elizabethton ever."

Still, Lipps remained successful jailhouse for months. Fargo Police Chief Travis Stefonowicz told CyberGuy that the department's reappraisal recovered Lipps was arrested successful Tennessee connected July 14, 2025, and held connected a probation violation.

"Tennessee authorities notified the Cass County Sheriff's Office connected October 20, 2025, that Ms. Lipps had a waiver of extradition to North Dakota and was disposable for transport to the Cass County Jail," Stefonowicz said.

Stefonowicz said Fargo Police could not find from disposable accusation wherefore Lipps remained successful Tennessee custody for arsenic agelong arsenic she did earlier being transported to North Dakota.

"We person been incapable to find based connected disposable accusation if the magnitude of clip Ms. Lipps was successful jailhouse successful Tennessee earlier being transported to North Dakota was owed to serving clip for a probation usurpation oregon if it was due to the fact that she fought extradition," Stefonowicz said.

Greenwood said she fought extradition and waited successful Tennessee earlier she was taken to North Dakota astir Halloween. "Gave her her archetypal ever level ticket, ever level ride," Greenwood said. "And she spent it successful custody, flying to North Dakota."

A pistillate who says she had ne'er flown earlier got her archetypal level thrust successful custody, headed to combat charges successful a authorities she says she had ne'er visited.

Fargo constabulary respond to facial designation concerns

Stefonowicz was appointed interim main connected March 30 aft erstwhile Chief Dave Zibolski retired connected March 27. Fargo Police said Zibolski's status was family-related and unrelated to this case. Stefonowicz was officially selected arsenic Fargo's adjacent constabulary main during the Fargo City Commission gathering connected May 11.

In a connection to CyberGuy, Stefonowicz said the apprehension warrant reflected that prosecutors and a justice had recovered probable cause.

"The Fargo Police Department takes the civilian rights and owed process of each individuals progressive successful our investigations precise seriously. Regarding the lawsuit of Ms. Lipps, the issuance of an apprehension warrant indicated that the Cass County State's Attorney and a justice determined probable origin existed for the charges," Stefonowicz said.

He said the charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could beryllium refiled if further probe supports doing so.

"This remains an ongoing investigation, and we are inactive moving to verify and corroborate accusation to determine, definitively, who was and was not progressive successful this location equity indebtedness slope fraud scheme," Stefonowicz said.

Fargo Police besides clarified that the section does not ain facial designation exertion oregon declaration straight with vendors that supply it.

"However, determination are authorities and nationalist instrumentality enforcement quality centers that incorporated facial designation exertion and are utilized by agencies crossed the country, including successful our state," Stefonowicz said. "On occasion, FPD investigators whitethorn taxable inquiries to those quality centers, successful bid to assistance make leads done facial designation for imaginable suspects oregon persons of involvement successful section investigations."

That effect adds an important caveat. Lipps' defence says she was wrongly accused and aboriginal cleared by basal records. Fargo Police says the lawsuit remains unfastened and investigators are inactive trying to find who was involved.

How Fargo constabulary accidental facial designation was used

Fargo Police besides clarified that the section does not ain facial designation exertion oregon declaration straight with vendors that supply it.

"However, determination are authorities and nationalist instrumentality enforcement quality centers that incorporated facial designation exertion and are utilized by agencies crossed the country, including successful our state," Stefonowicz said. "On occasion, FPD investigators whitethorn taxable inquiries to those quality centers, successful bid to assistance make leads done facial designation for imaginable suspects oregon persons of involvement successful section investigations."

That favoritism matters. Fargo Police says it does not tally facial designation in-house, but investigators whitethorn inactive usage extracurricular quality centers to make leads. That puts the absorption backmost connected what guardrails beryllium earlier those leads enactment an arrest. 

AMAZON ADDS CONTROVERSIAL AI FACIAL RECOGNITION TO RING

Lipps says she mislaid her home, car, estimation and canine aft spending months down bars successful a lawsuit tied to facial designation technology. (Antranik Tavitian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Basic records helped wide Angela Lipps

Once Greenwood got involved, helium started looking for impervious of wherever Lipps had been during the alleged slope fraud. The reply came from mundane records. Her household sent slope records showing enactment adjacent her location successful Tennessee during the aforesaid play Fargo authorities claimed she was successful North Dakota.

The records showed her depositing Social Security checks and making section purchases. "She was successful Elizabethton and the surrounding communities depositing her Social Security checks," Greenwood said. "Buying Ubers, cigarettes, gas, each that stuff."

Greenwood said helium forwarded the records to the state's attorney. After a constabulary interview, the lawsuit was dismissed. Lipps was released connected Christmas Eve.

Fargo Police gave CyberGuy a much elaborate timeline. Stefonowicz said Lipps made her archetypal tribunal quality successful North Dakota connected Oct. 31, 2025, but the detective assigned to the lawsuit did not larn she was successful custody successful North Dakota until Dec. 5.

"Because she had ineligible representation, lawyer consent was required earlier our detectives could interrogation her," Stefonowicz said. "An interrogation was archetypal granted by Ms. Lipps's defence lawyer connected December 19, 2025."

After that interview, Stefonowicz said Fargo Police determined that further probe was needed.

"On December 23, 2025, the FPD detective, the Cass County State's Attorney and the presiding justice mutually agreed to disregard the charges without prejudice to let for further investigation," Stefonowicz said. "Ms. Lipps was subsequently released from the Cass County Jail connected December 24, 2025."

By then, she says the harm was already done. She says she mislaid her home, her car, her estimation and her canine portion she was locked up.

Fargo constabulary adopted a facial designation policy

Fargo Police said it conducted a broad interior reappraisal aft the case. Stefonowicz said erstwhile Chief Dave Zibolski addressed the probe astatine a March 24 quality conference.

"With respect to this case, we person conducted a broad interior review," Stefonowicz said. "During a quality league connected March 24, erstwhile Chief of Police Dave Zibolski addressed areas wherever our archetypal probe could person been much implicit and emphasized that further enactment is required to afloat recognize who was and was not progressive successful this scheme."

Fargo Police has since adopted a ceremonial facial designation exertion policy. Stefonowicz said the section did not antecedently person a standalone argumentation due to the fact that Fargo Police does not behaviour facial designation analysis, supply that work to different agencies oregon support in-house facial designation technology.

"We person since adopted a ceremonial argumentation for facial designation exertion (FRT) usage for our agency," Stefonowicz said.

He said the lawsuit prompted Fargo Police enactment to revisit that approach.

"This lawsuit has prompted FPD enactment to re-evaluate that attack related to having a circumstantial FRT policy," Stefonowicz said. "FPD Policy 610, which formally establishes parameters and expectations for the usage of FRT, was published arsenic of Wednesday, March 25."

That argumentation alteration matters due to the fact that it shows the lawsuit prompted Fargo Police to formalize however investigators whitethorn usage facial designation leads, adjacent erstwhile the section does not tally the exertion itself.

Why facial designation mistakes are truthful dangerous

Facial designation tin assistance make leads. However, critics pass that it tin besides nutrient mendacious matches, particularly erstwhile representation prime is mediocre oregon the strategy compares faces against monolithic databases.

Some systems propulsion from nationalist photos online, including societal media images and different public-facing photos. That means galore radical whitethorn look successful hunt databases without realizing it.

Greenwood said constabulary request to dainty the exertion arsenic 1 investigative tool, not a shortcut astir basal detective work.

"I've told galore people, like, it's a tool," Greenwood said. "It should beryllium 1 of the tools that instrumentality enforcement tin use."

Then helium explained what needs to hap next. "They've got to larn to usage the different tools to verify what they're being told by this machine," Greenwood said.

That is the cardinal issue. A facial designation deed should propulsion investigators to inquire much questions. It should ne'er extremity the conversation.

Other facial designation wrongful apprehension cases

Angela Lipps is not the archetypal idiosyncratic to accidental facial designation helped enactment them successful handcuffs. Other cases person progressive radical wrongfully arrested aft bundle produced a mistaken match. Civil liberties groups person besides warned that facial designation systems tin execute worse connected immoderate groups, including darker-skinned men and women. 

That raises a superior question for each constabulary section utilizing this technology. What safeguards beryllium earlier a idiosyncratic gets arrested? A atrocious lucifer connected a surface tin crook into a hunt warrant and jailhouse time. For Lipps, that hazard became painfully real.

9 ONLINE PRIVACY RISKS YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT 

The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse successful Fargo, North Dakota, is pictured adjacent to Angela Lipps' mugshot. Lipps, a Tennessee grandmother, says she spent much than 5 months successful custody aft facial designation linked her to a North Dakota slope fraud case. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge via Getty Images / Fargo Police Department)

Ways to enactment harmless from facial designation mistakes

Most radical volition ne'er look thing similar this. Still, the Lipps lawsuit shows however your integer footprint tin travel you successful ways you whitethorn ne'er expect.

1) Say thing until you talk with a lawyer

If instrumentality enforcement contacts you astir thing you did not do, bash not effort to speech your mode retired of it. Stay calm and inquire for an attorney. Even guiltless radical tin accidental thing that gets misunderstood.

2) Keep records that amusement wherever you were

Bank transactions, receipts, telephone determination records, enactment schedules and aesculapian appointments tin assistance found wherever you were connected a definite date. You bash not request to way each infinitesimal of your life. However, basal integer records tin assistance if a superior mistake ever happens.

3) Review your nationalist photos online

Check what photos you station publicly. Also, look astatine tagged photos from friends and family. Your look tin look online adjacent erstwhile you did not station the representation yourself.

4) Remove idiosyncratic accusation from information broker sites

Data broker sites cod and merchantability idiosyncratic details. A information removal work tin assistance region your accusation from these databases. You tin besides bash it manually, but it takes time, and the accusation tin reappear. Check retired my apical picks for information removal services and get a escaped scan to find retired if your idiosyncratic accusation is already retired connected the web by visiting CyberGuy.com.

5) Ask constabulary and lawmakers astir constabulary AI rules

Your metropolis oregon authorities whitethorn already usage facial designation tools. Ask what rules constabulary indispensable travel earlier they usage an AI lucifer successful a transgression case. At a minimum, departments should necessitate autarkic grounds earlier an arrest.

What facial designation mistakes mean for you

AI tin assistance investigators determination faster, but velocity creates hazard erstwhile radical skip basal steps. Police inactive request records, timelines and communal sense. Facial designation tin marque mistakes. It tin misread mediocre images. It tin constituent to the incorrect person. And erstwhile that happens, the consequences bash not enactment connected a screen. They amusement up astatine someone's beforehand door.

Kurt's cardinal takeaways

This lawsuit should marque each constabulary section pause. Facial designation whitethorn assistance find leads, but it should ne'er beryllium capable to upend someone's life. Angela Lipps says she mislaid months down bars for a transgression she did not perpetrate successful a authorities she had ne'er visited. Her lawyer says basal records aboriginal helped beryllium she was successful Tennessee. That should person happened earlier spending months successful jail. Greenwood summed up the lawsuit this way: "Ridiculous lawsuit ne'er should person happened." Technology tin assistance constabulary lick crimes. But erstwhile a machine lucifer replaces existent detective work, guiltless radical tin wage the price. For the afloat speech with Angela Lipps' defence lawyer and much connected however this lawsuit unfolded, perceive to the "CyberGuy Report" podcast astatine CyberGuyPodcast.com.

If a facial designation lucifer tin assistance nonstop a grandma to jail, what guardrails should each constabulary section beryllium forced to travel earlier idiosyncratic loses their freedom? Let america cognize by penning to america astatine CyberGuy.com.

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