$3.76 Million Awarded to Denver Grandmother for SWAT Raid of Home Based on Inaccurate iPhone Ping
by Jo Ellen Nott
A Colorado jury awarded a 78-year-old woman, Ruby Johnson, $3.76 million in damages on March 1, 2024, after a SWAT team raided her home based on a faulty phone tracking app and a misleading warrant. “The detective misled the court by portraying the phone pings as precise location data,” said American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) attorney Rebecca Wallace.
The ACLU of Colorado, which represented Johnson, hailed the verdict as a “precedent-setting decision” under a new Colorado law allowing lawsuits against officers for violating the state Constitution. The provision that authorized the lawsuit was part of a sweeping police reform bill passed soon after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Ruby Johnson v. Gary Staab and Gregory Buschy of the Denver Police Department, Denver District Court, Case No. 2022CV33434, is the first compelling case to go to trial, the ACLU of Colorado said. State lawmakers created a right to sue individual police officers for state constitutional violations in state court.
Before 2020, people alleging police misconduct could only file lawsuits in federal court, where it is difficult to pursue such cases, partly because of the doctrine of qualified immunity that shields officials, including police, from lawsuits for money because of actions they take while performing their official duties.
The incident occurred in January 2022 when Denver police received a report of a stolen truck containing firearms. The truck’s owner used Apple’s “Find My iPhone” app to track the phone believed to be inside the stolen vehicle. Despite the known limitations of the app, Detective Gary Staab relied solely on a screenshot of the “Find My iPhone” results to obtain a search warrant for Johnson’s home.
A SWAT team stormed Johnson’s residence, causing significant damage while searching for the stolen items. The retired U.S. Postal Service worker and grandmother was ordered to exit her home wearing only a bathrobe and bath bonnet that morning. She was confronted by an armored personnel carrier in her front yard, several police cars along her street, and large men in military gear with a police dog primed for action.
According to The Colorado Sun, the SWAT team used a battering ram to break into Johnson’s garage, even though she explained how to open the door; broke ceiling tiles to access her attic while standing on her new dining room set; and broke the head off a doll that was made in her likeness.
Thankfully, Johnson was unharmed but understandably traumatized by the experience. “This raid was a nightmare,” Johnson said in a statement released by the ACLU. “The police never apologized, and they never explained why they thought they could just break into my home.”
The jury found Detective Staab and Sergeant Gregory Buschy liable for violating Johnson’s constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure. They awarded $1.26 million in compensatory damages and a significant $2.5 million in punitive damages, reflecting the jury’s belief that the officers acted with “willful and wanton disregard” for Johnson’s rights.
The Denver police made several mistakes that led to the $3.76 million award to Ruby Johnson. Detective Gary Staab obtained a search warrant based on inaccurate information; he ignored imprecise location data; he did not investigate to verify the iPhone’s location or if Johnson was in any way connected to the stolen items; the SWAT team used excessive force and destroyed Johnson’s property, even though she was compliant; and finally, no disciplinary action was taken against the officers.
If police departments won’t hold their officers accountable, then this case sends the unmistakable message that juries are ready, willing, and now, able to do so.
Sources: ACLU of Colorado, The Colorado Sun, TechDirt
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Related legal case
Ruby Johnson v. Gary Staab and Gregory Buschy of the Denver Police Department
| Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Denver District Court, Case No. 2022CV33434 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Damages | 3,760,000.00 |
