The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against two Florida police departments over the wrongful arrest of Robert Dillon in connection with a child abduction case. The lawsuit alleges that officers relied on flawed facial recognition technology to make the arrest.

According to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, facial recognition software returned a 93% probability match identifying Dillon as a man captured on security cameras at a McDonald's restaurant. The suspect in the video was allegedly attempting to persuade an unaccompanied girl under 12 years old to leave with him.

Dillon was arrested at his home in Fort Myers, Florida, despite living approximately 300 miles away from where the alleged crime occurred in Jacksonville Beach. The ACLU contends that law enforcement treated the facial recognition match as a near-certain identification rather than a investigative lead requiring further verification.

The lawsuit targets multiple law enforcement agencies involved in Dillon's arrest and prosecution on charges of allegedly luring a child. The case highlights ongoing concerns about the reliability and proper use of facial recognition technology in criminal investigations.

Facial recognition systems have faced scrutiny for accuracy issues, particularly regarding false positive matches that can lead to wrongful arrests. The ACLU's legal action seeks to address what it characterizes as systemic failures in how police departments utilize such technology in active investigations.