Four Months in Jail Because AI Said So: The Angela Lipps Case

Security surveillance camera mounted on wall

TL;DR: Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old Tennessee grandmother, spent four months in a North Dakota jail after facial recognition software incorrectly identified her as a bank fraud suspect. Fargo police used an unauthorized AI system from the West Fargo Police Department (Clearview AI) without following proper verification procedures. Her attorneys proved she was in Tennessee during the alleged crimes using bank records. Charges were dismissed on Christmas Eve 2025. Police Chief Dave Zibolski publicly apologized on March 24, 2026, admitted multiple errors, and issued a new facial recognition policy. But he still won’t close her case. A civil rights lawsuit is expected.

What Happened to Angela Lipps

In July 2025, Angela Lipps was arrested at gunpoint at her home in Elizabethton, Tennessee. She had never been to North Dakota.

Fargo police were investigating a bank fraud scheme. Detectives used facial recognition software to compare surveillance footage to potential suspects. The AI flagged Lipps as a match.

That was enough. Lipps was extradited to North Dakota, where she sat in jail for four months, waiting for a trial that would never come.

Her attorneys, Eric Rice and Dane DeKrey, eventually obtained bank records showing Lipps was in Tennessee at the time of the alleged crimes. She couldn’t have committed them. She was 1,500 miles away.^[1]

On December 24, 2025 (Christmas Eve) the charges were dismissed without prejudice.^[2]

What Went Wrong

On March 24, 2026, Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski held a press conference. He admitted errors. Multiple errors.^[3][4]

Here’s what the department got wrong:

Used an unauthorized AI system. West Fargo Police had access to Clearview AI. Fargo Police didn’t know West Fargo was using it, and didn’t have authorization to use those results. “We would not have allowed that to be used,” Zibolski said.^[3]
Skipped proper verification. Detectives were supposed to submit photos to the North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center (NDSLIC) for state-certified facial recognition analysis. They didn’t. They assumed surveillance photos had been sent. They weren’t.^[3]
Treated a facial recognition match as probable cause. It isn’t. A match is a lead, not evidence. Detectives obtained a warrant based largely on the AI hit without corroborating the identification through traditional investigative methods.^[2]
Used fake ID photos instead of surveillance images. The AI matched Lipps to a photo on a fake ID used in the crime, not to surveillance footage of the actual suspect. As Zibolski put it: “The photo on the fake ID that I use doesn’t necessarily mean that I am the person that’s in that fake ID.”^[3]

Zibolski called it “a lack of knowledge or maybe an oversight” rather than intentional misconduct.^[2]

The New Facial Recognition Policy

On March 20, 2026, Fargo PD issued a directive establishing new parameters for facial recognition use:^[4]

Only the Criminal Investigation Division can submit facial recognition requests
Unit commanders must review and approve all submissions
Requests can only go to state or federal intelligence centers, not other departments’ AI tools
Mandatory biometric training for all investigators
Monthly tracking and reporting to the investigations division commander

Notably, Fargo has no plans to acquire its own facial recognition system.^[2]

Why the Case Is Still Open

Here’s where it gets worse.

Despite admitting the errors, despite the Christmas Eve dismissal, despite the press conference apology, Fargo police refuse to close Angela Lipps’ case.

Chief Zibolski said the department is investigating “a pretty organized criminal enterprise” and claims they’re “not certain” of Lipps’ innocence. They want to “gather more evidence” before closing the matter.^[2]

The charges were dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning prosecutors could theoretically refile them. That leaves Lipps in legal limbo: cleared but not exonerated.

A Civil Rights Case Is Coming

Attorneys Eric Rice and Dane DeKrey are preparing civil rights claims against Fargo and West Fargo police.^[1][4]

Beyond the wrongful arrest itself, Lipps alleges she was released from jail with no money and no coat, during a North Dakota winter.^[2]

The city has already contacted its insurance carrier regarding a potential lawsuit.^[3]

No lawsuit has been filed yet. The legal team is waiting for State’s Attorney files and building their case.

This Isn’t an Isolated Incident

Facial recognition misidentifications have led to wrongful arrests across the country. The pattern is consistent:

Robert Williams (Detroit, 2020): Arrested for shoplifting based on a faulty facial recognition match. Case dismissed.
Nijeer Parks (New Jersey, 2019): Spent 10 days in jail for a crime committed 30 miles from where he was. Case dismissed.
Randal Reid (Georgia, 2022): Arrested in Louisiana for a purse theft in Georgia he didn’t commit. The suspect didn’t match his height or weight. Case dismissed.

All three victims were Black. Studies consistently show facial recognition systems have higher error rates for people with darker skin tones.^[5]

Lipps is white. The error rate problem cuts across demographics when verification protocols fail this badly.

What This Case Means for Facial Recognition in Policing

The Lipps case exposes systemic failures in how police departments use facial recognition:

No National Standards

Departments can use any AI system, from any vendor, with minimal oversight. West Fargo had Clearview AI. Fargo leadership didn’t even know.

Matches Become Arrests

AI matches are supposed to be investigative leads. Instead, they’re treated as probable cause for warrants and arrests.

No Consequences

The detective who obtained the warrant still works for Fargo PD. No officers have been disciplined. The policy change came only after public exposure.

Victims Stay Suspects

Even with proven alibis, law enforcement can keep cases open indefinitely. Lipps remains technically “under investigation.”

How to Protect Yourself

If you’re wrongly accused based on facial recognition:

Document your alibi immediately. Bank records, credit card statements, GPS data from your phone, receipts: anything that proves where you were.
Demand to know how you were identified. In some states, police must disclose use of facial recognition. Ask in writing.
Get a lawyer with tech literacy. Not all defense attorneys understand biometric evidence. Find one who does.
Contact civil liberties organizations. The ACLU, EFF, and other groups track facial recognition cases and may offer support.

The Bottom Line

Angela Lipps lost four months of her life because a computer said she did something she couldn’t have done. Fargo police skipped basic verification, used an unauthorized AI system, and obtained an arrest warrant based on a match that any competent investigation would have ruled out in hours.

They’ve apologized. They’ve changed policy. But they won’t close her case.

The civil rights lawsuit will be interesting. So will the question of whether any other department looked at this story and asked: “Are we doing the same thing?”