Colorado grandmother awarded $3.76M after bungled SWAT raid based on Find My iPhone ping
A Colorado grandmother has won a $3.76 million jury verdict after her home was mistakenly searched in a bungled 2022 SWAT raid for a stolen truck, guns and an iPhone based on information from Apple’s “Find My” app. A jury sided with Ruby Johnson, 78, and determined Friday that Denver police Det.
A Colorado grandmother has won a $3.76 million jury verdict after her home was mistakenly searched in a bungled 2022 SWAT raid for a stolen truck, guns and an iPhone based on information from Apple’s “Find My” app.
A jury sided with Ruby Johnson, 78, and determined Friday that Denver police Det. Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy violated the state’s constitution by “hastily seeking, obtaining and executing a search warrant" on her home without probable cause or proper investigation, according to a Monday statement from the ACLU of Colorado, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of Johnson.
A “SWAT team ransacked Ms. Johnson’s home of 43 years 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. Ms. Johnson lived alone in her Montbello home and was in her robe, bonnet, and slippers when she was subjected to the terrifying police raid,” according to the ACLU. “Donning body armor and automatic weapons, police officers searched Ms. Johnson’s home for stolen items from an incident that she had absolutely nothing to do with.”
The verdict included $1.26 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages.
Ruby Johnson surrounded by SWAT officers in Denver, on Jan. 4, 2022.Denver Police Department via APA representative with ACLU of Colorado told NBC News on Tuesday the city of Denver will be responsible for paying the $3.76 million. However, Staab and Buschy, may have to pay up to $25,000, if the city proves in a separate lawsuit, the officers acted in bad faith, the ACLU said.
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