Colorado resident Ruby Johnson was recently awarded a substantial settlement following a mistaken raid on her home in early 2022. The incident stemmed from law enforcement officials’ misinterpretation of Apple’s Find My app (via The Washington Post).
In January 2022, a stolen vehicle containing firearms, cash, and an iPhone 11 was reported to local authorities. The owner of the vehicle, Jeremy McDaniel, used Apple’s Find My app to locate the truck and attempt to hunt down the alleged thief. Find My showed McDaniel’s iPhone 11 near Ms. Johnson’s residence. However, Find My’s location indicator has limitations, often displaying a broader area around the device rather than the iPhone’s exact position.
Despite this inherent ambiguity, investigators misread the Find My app and concluded that the stolen vehicle was at Ms. Johnson’s home. As a result, they secured a search warrant. On January 4th, 2022, Ms. Johnson’s home was raided by heavily armed officers, causing significant distress to the 78-year-old grandmother. She was detained and questioned without explanation.
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A thorough search of the property revealed no connection between Ms. Johnson and the stolen items. Later in court, Ms. Johnson’s attornies claimed that the location indicator law officials used as the “sole basis” for the search warrant from Find My spanned at least six properties, with no definitive proof or reasonable grounds to raid Ms. Johnson’s home.
A jury ruled in Ms. Johnson’s favor, finding the officers in violation of her constitutional rights. She was awarded $4 million in compensation for the damages incurred. The raid had a profound effect on Ms. Johnson. She experienced emotional distress, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. The psychological trauma forced her to relocate from her home of 43 years.
