- Bodycam footage reveals AI misidentification led to wrongful casino arrest
- Lawsuit alleges officer falsified reports and ignored fingerprint evidence
- Case raises concerns over police reliance on facial recognition systems
Newly released police bodycam footage shows the aftermath of the arrest of an innocent man at Reno’s Peppermill Casino who was misidentified by the property’s AI facial recognition system.
Casino.org reported in November that long-haul truck driver Jason Killinger was suing “Officer R. Jager,” a rookie Reno Police Department cop, for violating his constitutional rights, falsifying evidence, and causing him physical injury and harm during his 11-hour wrongful detention in September 2023.
Let’s just say the bodycam footage does not appear to help Jager’s case.
Trust in AI
As Jager compares Killinger’s ID and description with the one the casino had on file for “Michael,” a man who was banned a few months earlier for sleeping on the premises, the video does show the pair bear an uncanny resemblance.
But it also demonstrates that Jager chose to trust in the powers of AI and its “100% facial match,” over material facts, such as that Killinger is four inches taller than his doppelganger and has blue eyes rather than hazel.
Jager later wrote on his arrest report: “The associated demographics on each driver’s license were fairly similar, with the only major distinction being hazel and blue eyes, which are by their nature very similar eye colors.”
“So the software’s saying it, it’s legit,” Jager said in the footage.
“Alrighty. Well, that solves that,” he added later.
Killinger was kept in handcuffs for roughly four hours during his 11-hour detention, which caused bruising and shoulder pain, according to the lawsuit. He was eventually released after a fingerprint check confirmed his true identity.
‘False Statements’
The lawsuit alleges that Jager “knowingly inserted false statements” into both the incident report and arrest declaration, including claims that Killinger’s identification documents conflicted and that one or more “appeared to be fraudulent.”
In reality, the plaintiff had a valid Nevada driver’s license, a UPS pay stub, and vehicle registration, all issued in his name and consistent with his physical description.
The filing characterizes these statements as a “deliberate falsification” meant to “manufacture probable cause” after the officer realized the casino’s allegations did not align with Killinger’s documentation.
According to the suit, and confirmed by bodycam footage, Jager also told a casino manager that Killinger “probably has a DMV hook-up,” suggesting access to fake identification, despite having no evidence to support that assertion.
Killinger contends that Jager’s conduct violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. He further alleges that Jager’s reports omitted the fingerprint results that cleared him and falsely portrayed him as uncooperative and using multiple identities, which the lawsuit describes as fabrication through concealment.
The post Video: Peppermill Casino Facial Recognition Wrongful Arrest Bodycam Footage Released appeared first on Casino.org.
