How Apple’s Find My application ‘cost’ an American city millions of dollars

AppleThe Find My app cost the city of Denver US$3.76 million compensation and damages. In 2022, city police mistakenly raid and search an elderly woman’s home for a stolen truck and weapons.
According to a CNN report, Denver shelves they demanded the return of a stolen truck loaded with weapons, ammunition and cash. For this, the police used Apple’s Find My technology on the other iPhone to locate the vehicle. However, the police picked the wrong house from a fairly wide area to raid and catch the thieves.
Because of this inappropriate raid, the 78-year-old Ruby Johnson filed a complaint against the police. In compensation, the city will pay Johnson $3.76 million.
Moreover, the accused officers — Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy — are also being sued as an individual. Denver police previously acquitted both men of the crime, but a jury disagreed.

How Apple’s Find My app played a role

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case on Johnson’s behalf. The lawsuit mentions that the raid was conducted based on “an alleged location ping from the iPhone’s Find My app that the officers did not understand and were not trained for.”
According to the complaint, police relied on a “Find My” ping from an iPhone 11 that was likely still in the stolen truck. However, the area identified included parts of six other properties in parts of four city blocks.
In a statement, Johnson’s attorney Team Macdonald said, “We are troubled by the lack of training or policy changes and hope the punitive damages award sends a strong message that the police department must take the constitutional rights of its residents seriously.”
The ACLU and the jury concluded that the two officers who ordered the raid had no reason to single out Johnson’s home as a target.
The officers must also pay nearly $1.25 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. A clerk of district court in Denver noted that the city has not yet appealed the ruling.