Tennessee grandmother arrested for crimes in a state she never visited, the problem is the bizarre witness who identified her

A grandmother spent over five months in jail after police used an AI facial recognition tool to link her to crimes in a state she says she had never even visited. Angela Lipps, 50, was arrested in Tennessee after a warrant for her arrest had been issued weeks earlier in Fargo, North Dakota, over 1,000 miles from her home. According to CNN, months before her arrest, several instances of bank fraud had occurred in and around Fargo, prompting a police investigation.

Investigators in Fargo used a “partner agency’s facial recognition technology” alongside other investigative steps to identify a suspect. However, Fargo Police Department Chief Dave Zibolski later revealed that the reliance on some of that information was “part of the issue.” This system has since been prohibited from use by the Fargo police.

A North Dakota judge signed a warrant for Lipps’ arrest with nationwide extradition. She was facing multiple serious charges, including felony theft. After her arrest, she was first held in Tennessee for three months, then extradited to North Dakota. “It was the first time I had ever been on an airplane. I was terrified and exhausted and humiliated.” Once in Fargo, her assigned lawyer quickly found bank records proving Lipps was in Tennessee at the time of the crime. 

Her entire story is infuriating and a masterclass in complacency

Five months after her arrest, the State’s Attorney’s Office informed the Fargo detective about this crucial exculpatory evidence, which led to the dismissal of all charges. Lipps returned from her first and only (and probably last!) trip to North Dakota. Her legal team is now investigating why Lipps was held for so long when her bank records were easy to find.

Frustratingly, Zibolski dismissed it as a “couple of errors” in the investigative process. First, they did not go to the North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center, which is certified in facial recognition. Instead, they partnered with West Fargo to use their tool. Then the police provided the fake ID from the fraud case, and failed to give any surveillance data. 

Lipps was identified from the ID. There doesn’t seem to be any other evidence to tie her to the crime. When asked if the department plans to apologize to Lipps, the chief deflected to say they still don’t know who is involved in the fraud cases, as the investigation is ongoing.

While Lipps’s attorneys appreciate Fargo’s dedication to correct AI-related issues, they criticized the lack of “basic investigative efforts” before the warrant was issued. It highlights a growing concern that police are rapidly adopting new technologies like AI with little evidence of their efficacy. Considering that the departments are swamped, they use it as a shortcut to fundamental police work.

There is an important need to have humans check all receipts. After all, it was an AI error that led to a woman receiving a misdiagnosis and believing that she was dying. Even more horribly, it led to the horrifying strike on the Iranian school on the opening day of the Iran war.