Find My misfire leads to SWAT raid on grandmother
A Denver detective is being sued after he led a SWAT raid on an elderly woman's home after Find My falsely pinged her home as a location of a stolen iPhone.
On January 3, 2022, a truck was stolen from a Denver Hyatt hotel. According to the owner, it contained six firearms, two drones, $4,000 in cash, and an iPhone 11.
The following day, Denver detective Gary Staab interviewed the owner of the stolen goods. Staab was told that Apple's Find My app had pinged a residential address twice the day before.
Stabb then drafted an affidavit to search that resident's home.
The resident of the address in question was 77-year-old Ruby Johnson. During the raid, Johnson was placed in a police car as offers used a battering ram to destroy her garage door and door frame.
They also destroyed property in her home, including her collectible dolls, as they searched her home for the stolen items. None of the stolen property was found in the house.
Johnson is suing Staab over the search itself, and the destruction. The suit alleges that Staab's affidavit violated Johnson's right, afforded by the state constitution, to "be free of unreasonable searches and seizures," according to NBC News.
The complaint alleges that Staab failed to corroborate the location independently. Apple's Find My app is designed to determine approximate locations and should not be used as a law enforcement tool.
The complaint also states that neither Staab nor the police department apologized for the raid. The police department also refuses to pay for repairs from the search.
Following the suit's filing, the Denver Police Department and the Department of Public Safety issued a statement saying that they "sincerely apologize to Ms. Johnson for any negative impacts this situation may have had on her."
Following the raid, Johnson left her home for her son's home in Texas, because she did not want to stay in her home. She has since returned to Denver but is afraid to answer the door.
A comprehensive breakdown of the situation, as well as the affidavit footage of the raid, can be viewed on 9News
Read on AppleInsider
On January 3, 2022, a truck was stolen from a Denver Hyatt hotel. According to the owner, it contained six firearms, two drones, $4,000 in cash, and an iPhone 11.
The following day, Denver detective Gary Staab interviewed the owner of the stolen goods. Staab was told that Apple's Find My app had pinged a residential address twice the day before.
Stabb then drafted an affidavit to search that resident's home.
The resident of the address in question was 77-year-old Ruby Johnson. During the raid, Johnson was placed in a police car as offers used a battering ram to destroy her garage door and door frame.
They also destroyed property in her home, including her collectible dolls, as they searched her home for the stolen items. None of the stolen property was found in the house.
Johnson is suing Staab over the search itself, and the destruction. The suit alleges that Staab's affidavit violated Johnson's right, afforded by the state constitution, to "be free of unreasonable searches and seizures," according to NBC News.
The complaint alleges that Staab failed to corroborate the location independently. Apple's Find My app is designed to determine approximate locations and should not be used as a law enforcement tool.
The complaint also states that neither Staab nor the police department apologized for the raid. The police department also refuses to pay for repairs from the search.
Following the suit's filing, the Denver Police Department and the Department of Public Safety issued a statement saying that they "sincerely apologize to Ms. Johnson for any negative impacts this situation may have had on her."
Following the raid, Johnson left her home for her son's home in Texas, because she did not want to stay in her home. She has since returned to Denver but is afraid to answer the door.
A comprehensive breakdown of the situation, as well as the affidavit footage of the raid, can be viewed on 9News
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
In addition to that SWAT raid tax dollar waste, you then have the waste of having to pay to compensate the lady for all the broken items, including collectable dolls, some of which may not be so easy to replace. And now you also have a lawsuit filed as well.
The police issue an apology (but refuse to pay for repairs) and expect that to end that particular case so they can then move on to the next SWAT raid, which could also be a mistake.
All the while, this poor lady is left with financial loss and with fear about what may next come through her door.
All over a SINGLE iPhone.
Madness. Utter madness.
"On January 3, 2022, a truck was stolen from a Denver Hyatt hotel. According to the owner, it contained six firearms, two drones, $4,000 in cash, and an iPhone 11."
Why did the police have to break in? Why couldn't they walk up to the door and investigate? Or announce over a loudspeaker from the outside that the person inside must come out. Then enter the home and re-ping the phone.
Because they're a bunch off macho, unprofessional shits and it's so much more fun to break things.
I hope she wins her case big time.
Which means either there’s a whole lot of magical thinking on your part (based on my experience of what my friends in law enforcement would do — and the several that made incredulous faces when I sent this article to them for feedback). Or…
Or…
The inescapable conclusion that the Denver police department is so dysfunctional and inept that it didn’t occur to anyone in the chain of command, the rank and file on the ground, or the anyone in the legal system that this plan had serious deficiencies and serious possible repercussions?
To quote my buddies, “Someone, probably more than one, absolutely knew there was an elderly black woman there and didn’t give two shits. That’s exactly how institutional racism plays out.”
Since when is a drone a SWAT worthy offense?
Since when does having a lot of cash mean the police can and should raid your home? While dangerous, it is everyone's right to have their own money at home, rather than a bank, if they so choose. If one ought not do that, ban cash by law.
The fact remains that the trigger is a SINGLE iPhone "as per the original article" which largely focuses on that. Indeed, had it merely been the 6 guns, a single drone, and $6k in cash, the story wouldn't have even made the headlines here on AppleInsider. Consider that.
I stand by my earlier post.
The article made it clear that SWAT wasn't activated for a single iPhone, but because of an iPhone that was supposed to have provided a location of stolen firearms and a not insignificant amount of cash. Not the same thing as your first statement. That you stand by your statement is ludicrous, but it's your choice. Your second post back peddles some while trying not to appear doing so.
The affidavit for search warrant and subsequent investigation should show how badly Denver police screwed up, giving Grandma decent compensation, especially if she gets a good lawyer.
Now why would you expect that a stolen vehicle would be found at the crook's address? Why would you not consider that the crook or crooks wouldn't off load the money, guns, and iPhone and then ditch the truck? A description of the truck along with the plate sitting in front of the house of the crook along with stolen property would be a really stupid move. Not all crooks are that stupid. Most stolen vehicles are abandoned or stripped for parts and then abandoned, unless it was a high-end ride, then it's sold overseas.
The police made some really bad mistakes. Not seeing the truck at the address and not assuming that was significant were not among them.