By: Ethan Kramer
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Tennessee grandmother spent months behind bars after facial recognition technology wrongly identified her in a bank fraud case, and now one of her attorneys is speaking out about a potential lawsuit.
Angela Lipps was jailed in Tennessee, then transferred to North Dakota before the charges were ultimately dismissed. Fargo Police have not apologized and say their investigation is still ongoing.
Eric Rice, one of Lipps’ attorneys, said they are gathering records from multiple agencies as they consider legal action.
“We’ve requested a number of records, some agencies have provided them, others have not but we’re trying to have the best look before we move forward,” Rice said.
An email obtained by Valley News Live showed six Fargo detectives were notified of Lipps’ arrest in July — nearly five months before Fargo Police say they knew she was in custody.
“It’s my understanding that the fugitive task force in the Fargo area was notified that Angela was arrested. So at least some local enforcement appeared to have been notified that Angela was arrested around the time she was,” Rice said.
Charges against Lipps were dismissed on Christmas Eve after her attorney produced bank records proving she was in Tennessee at the time of the alleged crimes.
Rice said dismissal is not the same as being cleared.
“It’s not like the department issued a letter of apology or said Angela you’re clear we wish you well — instead the department appears to say it was dismissed without prejudice and that Angela remains a person they are investigating. I haven’t seen any evidence in the file that Angela is connected to this in any way,” Rice said.
Rice said they are pursuing potential civil rights claims, though no lawsuit has been filed.
He said they have obtained additional alibi evidence placing Lipps in Tennessee, and that she had nothing to do with the alleged crimes. He said Lipps is seeking closure and healing.
“Our hope is that any issues that contributed to Angela’s wrongful charging and arrest are identified and corrected. I hope Angela’s matter can serve as a warning to law enforcement to not use AI as a shortcut,” Rice said.
