Apple's Find My App Implicated in $3.76M Denver Police Raid Settlement

The Find My app from Apple has resulted in a $3.76 million payout by the city of Denver, USA, in damages and compensation. The settlement stems from a mistaken 2022 police raid on the home of an elderly woman, conducted in search of a stolen truck and firearms.

According to a CNN report, the Denver police were attempting to recover a stolen truck containing guns, ammunition, and cash. They used Apple's Find My technology on another iPhone to pinpoint the vehicle's location.

However, the police mistakenly targeted the wrong residence within a broad geographical area.

As a result of this erroneous raid, 78-year-old Ruby Johnson filed a lawsuit against the police department. The city will pay Johnson $3.76 million as compensation.

Furthermore, the involved officers, Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy, were also named as individual defendants in the lawsuit. Although the Denver Police Department initially cleared both men of any wrongdoing, the jury ultimately disagreed.

The Role of Apple's Find My App in the Incident

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

According to the complaint, the police relied on a "Find My" signal from an iPhone 11, presumably still inside the stolen truck. However, the identified area encompassed portions of six other properties spanning four city blocks.

Tim Macdonald, Johnson's attorney, 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 authorized the raid lacked sufficient justification to single out Johnson's home.

In addition to the city's settlement, the officers are liable for nearly $1.25 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. A Denver District Court clerk confirmed that the city has not yet filed an appeal against the verdict.