Colorado Police’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Matched a Family’s Minivan’s Plate to That of a Stolen Vehicle Allegedly, Resulting in Detainment at Gunpoint

On August 2, 2020, Aurora Police Department officers in Colorado conducted a high-risk traffic stop on a Black family after their license plate reader system flagged their minivan as matching a stolen vehicle. The system had matched the license plate number to a stolen motorcycle from Montana, despite the vehicles being completely different types. The incident involved four children ages 6, 12, 14, and 17, along with adult driver Brittney Gilliam, who was taking the children to get their nails done. Officers approached with guns drawn and ordered everyone out of the vehicle, placing some children face-down on hot pavement and handcuffing several of them. The children could be heard crying and calling for their mother in video recorded by a bystander. Over a dozen officers eventually responded to the scene. After determining the vehicle was not stolen, officers immediately removed handcuffs, explained the mistake, and apologized. Police Chief Vanessa Wilson stated it was not a profiling incident but rather 'a hit that came through the system.' The confusion may have been partly due to the fact that Gilliam's car had been reported stolen earlier in the year but was recovered the next day. The department has offered to pay for therapy sessions for the traumatized children and opened an internal investigation.