Automatic license plate readers, like the now-ubiquitous Flock cameras, have been a controversial component of modern lawn enforcement. While there have been threats of lawsuits regarding them, a Detroit woman has followed through after police seized her Dodge Charger based on tenuous evidence from a plate reader.
See the horrific aftermath of two Porsche 911s crashing into each other.
This case could change how license plate readers are used by police departments across the country. While they are useful tools, just like with any tool they can also be abused. And a jury might have the final say on whether that’s true in this case.
As reported on originally by Detroit Free Press, the September 3, 2023 seizure of Isoke Robinson’s 2013 Dodge Charger was done based on eyewitnesses describing a white Charger used in a drive-by shooting.
With that little tidbit of info, investigators sifted through a plate reader two miles from the scene of the crime until they found a white Dodge Charger, Robinson’s vehicle. The thing is the reader is right by her house and she’s surely not the only person in Detroit who drives a white Charger. That’s like taking someone’s black Toyota Camry because another black Camry was used in an armed robbery.
We don’t know all the facts of this case, which will likely come out in a trial if things go that far. But what’s published in the Detroit Free Press is pretty damning. We’ve seen police investigators make some huge logical leaps before, leading to horrendously erroneous conclusions, but this one is one of the dumbest ones we’ve seen in a while.
While police had the Charger in their possession, Robinson had to borrow a friend’s truck so she could get to and from work, otherwise her and her 2-year-old son would’ve starved. Allegedly, police didn’t even bother to process the vehicle for evidence like gunshot residue.
Technologies like license plate readers can be helpful – we’ve seen them used properly to track down dangerous suspects quickly – but like any innovation they can also be abused by lazy individuals unwilling to use what should be their most powerful tool on hand, their brain.
Robinson is reportedly suing for monetary damages thanks to this incident. We hope this results in a change in how different law enforcement agencies use plate readers. What allegedly happened in this case is unconscionable.
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