This is the epiotme of dystopian.
Louisiana authorities' use of facial recognition technology led to the mistaken arrest of a Georgia man on a fugitive warrant, an attorney said in a case that renews attention to racial disparities.
In a case that reveals racial disparities in facial recognition technology, Louisiana authorities mistakenly arrested a Georgia man on a fugitive warrant by mistake, an attorney said. The only similarity between the two men is that both were Black.
On November 25, Randall Reid, 28, was arrested in DeKalb County, Georgia, after police misidentified him as a purse thief in Jefferson Parish and Baton Rouge.
'They told me I had a warrant out of Jefferson Parish. I said, "What is Jefferson Parish?"' Reid said. 'I have never been to Louisiana a day in my life. Then they told me it was for theft. So not only have I not been to Louisiana, I also don't steal."
Authorities released him on December 1 after realizing their mistake.
According to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, Reid's arrest draws attention to the use of technology critics say misidentifies people of color more often than whites.
Following Reid's identification by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, a Baton Rouge Police Department detective secured an arrest warrant claiming he was one of three men involved in another luxury purse theft the same week, the newspaper reported.
The Jefferson sheriff revoked the warrant due to significant differences between the two men, including a mole on Reid's face, said Calogero, who estimated Reid was 40 pounds heavier than the purse thief.
The New Orleans City Council voted in July in favor of allowing police to use facial recognition after privacy concerns were raised. The use of facial recognition can be used by police after all other methods have failed to identify suspects in violent crimes.
Facial recognition is tech that has been heavily criticized since its development due to its exclusionary and racist pattern recognition of people of color. Although their track record for protecting people of color is lackluster to say the least, law enforcement needs to take caution in recklessly using this technology that can pose a real danger to people of color.
Source: The Daily Mail