Know your rights
What to do, and what to ask for
Surveillance can feel like something that happens to you. Some of it is — but you are not without footing. You have rights when you're stopped, when you're recorded, and when a system gets you wrong. And you can ask the city, in writing, what it knows and how it's used.
Here's the practical version: what's true, what to do, and who to call. This is general information, not legal advice — for your own situation, talk to a lawyer or the ACLU of Michigan.
Four things that are true
A face match alone can't get you arrested in Detroit
Under the 2024 Williams settlement, Detroit police may not arrest you based on a facial-recognition match alone — the match is a lead, never the proof — and a face-recognition lead can't be used to build a photo lineup without independent evidence. If you're told a computer identified you, that is not, by itself, a lawful basis for arrest here.
ACLU · Williams v. City of Detroit (2024) ↗You can record the police in public
Courts, including the federal appeals court covering Michigan, have recognized a First Amendment right to photograph and record police officers performing their duties in public. Stay a reasonable distance and don't interfere; you do not have to stop because you're asked to.
ACLU — Know Your Rights: Photographers ↗You can stay silent and ask if you're free to go
If an officer stops you, you can ask, “Am I free to leave?” If yes, you may calmly walk away. You have the right to remain silent and to say you want a lawyer. You generally do not have to consent to a search — and you can say so out loud.
ACLU — Know Your Rights: Stopped by Police ↗You can demand the records
Under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (MCL 15.231), the City and the police department generally must respond to a public-records request within 5 business days. You can ask what surveillance the city runs, what it costs, who can search the data, and how long footage is kept — and you can inspect records in person for free.
Michigan FOIA (MCL 15.231 et seq.) ↗If this happens to you
Calm, clear steps
You're stopped, and an officer says a camera or computer identified you
- 01Stay calm and don't run. Ask, “Am I being detained, or am I free to go?”
- 02Say clearly that you want to remain silent and that you want a lawyer.
- 03Don't consent to a search; you can say “I do not consent.”
- 04Remember: in Detroit, a facial-recognition match alone is not a lawful basis for arrest. Note the time, place, and officers' names or badge numbers as soon as you safely can.
You're arrested for something you didn't do — possible misidentification
- 01Do not explain or argue your case to police; ask for a lawyer and stay silent.
- 02Write down everything you remember as soon as you can: where you actually were, who can confirm it, and anything said about a camera, “face match,” or “hit.”
- 03Tell your lawyer to ask whether facial recognition was used — Detroit must disclose that to prosecutors under the 2024 settlement.
- 04Contact the ACLU of Michigan; the three Detroit wrongful-arrest cases were documented and challenged with their help.
You're pulled over because a plate reader flagged your car
- 01Plate readers misread characters; a “hit” can be wrong. Stay calm and keep your hands visible.
- 02You can ask why you were stopped. You don't have to consent to a search of your car.
- 03If it was a mistaken hit, you can later file a records request for the search log and the reason it was run.
Get your records
The fastest way to turn a question into an answer is a public-records request. We've written four copy-paste templates — for the drone program, plate-reader searches, the facial-recognition audit, and surveillance spending — with where to send them.
Open the records templates →Where to get help
This page is general information, not legal advice, and laws and policies change. For your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney or contact the ACLU of Michigan. Rights at the moment of a police encounter are not always honored as written — the safest course is to stay calm, assert your rights clearly, and document what happened afterward.
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