Grandmother Sues Police Department for $10 Million Over False AI Facial Recognition Arrest

A Tennessee grandmother is seeking $10 million in damages, alleging that a false match from artificial intelligence facial recognition technology led to her wrongful arrest and six months of detention in North Dakota. The federal lawsuit names the city of Fargo and a Fargo police detective as defendants, accusing them of improper reliance on the technology.

Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old grandmother of five, was arrested in July 2025 outside her Tennessee home. She was detained in Tennessee for several months before being extradited to North Dakota to face multiple bank theft charges. Her charges were eventually dropped on Christmas Eve after Lipps and her attorney presented bank records confirming her presence in Tennessee at the time of the alleged crimes.

The lawsuit claims that a West Fargo Police Department investigator used AI facial recognition software, which identified Lipps' social media photo as a potential lead in a bank theft investigation. The technology reportedly flagged a fake ID used by a suspect captured on surveillance footage at multiple Fargo-area banks. The complaint asserts that Lipps did not resemble the suspect in the surveillance footage, noting differences in build, facial features, and tattoos. Lipps had also never previously visited North Dakota.

The complaint alleges that Detective Lucas Heck did not conduct a thorough investigation or establish sufficient probable cause before requesting an arrest warrant. It further states that the Fargo Police Department (FPD) failed to adequately train its officers on the use of facial recognition technology, despite awareness of the risks of wrongful detention and prosecution.

Lipps' attorney, Eric Rice, stated that the $10 million demand reflects the specific harm Lipps endured, including traumatic jail conditions, missing family events like birthdays and holidays, and being denied necessary medications and dentures during her incarceration.

Following her release, Lipps reportedly lost her residence, car, and other personal property. The lawsuit states she now lives in fear of being wrongly detained again, despite her innocence.

In March, then-Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski acknowledged that the department had identified "a couple of errors" in the investigation. He explained that while West Fargo police used AI facial recognition based on a fake ID photo, Fargo detectives mistakenly assumed surveillance photos from the bank thefts were also included in the information provided. Zibolski noted that the department does not possess its own AI facial recognition technology and has since prohibited the use of the West Fargo system for their investigations.

The city of Fargo and the Fargo Police Department declined to comment on the pending litigation. ABC News has been unable to reach Detective Heck for comment.