LaDonna Crutchfield, a 37-year-old Detroit woman, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a mistaken identity arrest due to faulty facial recognition technology caused her severe emotional distress. On January 23, 2024, police took her from her home in handcuffs, accusing her of attempted murder. "She was identified as a suspect by an unknown facial recognition database," the lawsuit states.
Crutchfield’s attorney, Ivan Land, argued that investigators already knew the real suspect’s name and could have easily ruled out his client. “They could’ve seen she’s five inches shorter and several years younger than the alleged shooter,” Land told NBC News. However, Detroit police claim facial recognition was not used in this case. “Facial (recognition) was never run. In this case, it was never submitted,” said Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald.
Instead, police said they linked Crutchfield to the crime through a partial license plate, which led to an Eastside house where detectives believed her relatives had once lived. Land disputed this, stating her family had no connection to the location. Fitzgerald acknowledged that while there was enough evidence to consider Crutchfield a suspect, detectives did not investigate deeply enough. “She has a young child, but unfortunately, they didn’t go deep enough to see that the actual suspect, who has since been charged, also fits the description,” he explained.
During her detention, a detective showed Crutchfield photos of the suspect and remarked, “You got to admit it looks like you.” She responded, “Why? Because I am fat and Black like her?” She was released only after providing fingerprints and a DNA sample.
Fearing job loss, Crutchfield returned to the police station the next day and obtained a detective’s letter verifying she was not a suspect. “I am able to declare Ms. Crutchfield is not the subject involved in this criminal investigation,” wrote Detective Marc Thompson.
This incident echoes a similar wrongful arrest in 2023 when Detroit police detained eight-months pregnant Porcha Woodruff in a carjacking case despite her pleas for officers to check the suspect’s physical condition.
Crutchfield’s lawsuit, which does not specify damages, argues that police “knew or should have known” their actions would cause “severe emotional distress,” especially given the public nature of her arrest.
Link: NBC News