Central Florida Man Was Wrongly Arrested Due to Misuse of Facial Recognition Technology

February 23, 2026 • 08:53

A Central Florida man was wrongfully arrested after Orlando police used facial recognition technology to identify him as a suspect in fraud and theft crimes. Despite policy stating facial recognition results should only be investigative leads, police relied on a decade-old photo and a hotel employee’s identification, leading to Burgess’s arrest. The State Attorney dropped the charges, highlighting risks of misusing AI in law enforcement.