Unverified Misreading by Automated Plate Reader Led to Traffic Stop and Restraint of an Innocent Person at Gunpoint in California
In San Francisco, an automated license plate reader (ALPR) camera misread a number as belonging to a stolen vehicle having the wrong make, but its photo was not visually confirmed by the police due to poor quality and allegedly despite multiple chances prior to making a traffic stop, causing an innocent person to be pulled over at gunpoint and restrained in handcuffed.
- Date it happened
- 2009-03-30
- Organisation involved
- San Francisco Police Department
- Product, system or model
- Automated license plate readers parse passing vehicles and search for matches with license plate numbers in a database of vehicles that are stolen or wanted.
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