Bodycam footage reveals moment innocent man is arrested after AI misidentifies him

Newly released bodycam footage shows the moment an innocent man was arrested after an AI facial recognition system wrongly identified him as a banned casino patron.

The footage, published by YouTube channel Explore With Us, captures the September 2023 incident at the Peppermill Casino in Reno, Nevada, where long-haul truck driver Jason Killinger was detained and arrested despite repeatedly proving his identity.

According to court filings, Killinger stopped by the casino during a work trip when the venue’s AI facial recognition system flagged him as a man who had previously been banned for sleeping on the premises. The system returned a “100% match” with the banned individual, identified as Michael Ellis.

Casino security detained Killinger and accused him of being Michael Ellis, the man who had been trespassed months earlier. Killinger protested and presented his driver’s license, which clearly identified him as Jason James Killinger. Security staff refused to accept it and called the police.

Killinger was held for 11 hours in total, according to a wrongful arrest lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Nevada. He was handcuffed for roughly four of those hours, suffering bruising and shoulder pain.

AI flags innocent man as casino trespasser

Reno Police officer R. Jager, described in the filings as a rookie officer, arrived on scene and reviewed Killinger’s documentation. Killinger provided his driver’s license, a UPS payslip, and his vehicle registration. All documents matched his name and appearance.

Despite this, Jager accused Killinger of using fraudulent identification and suggested he had a connection inside the DMV to fabricate documents. In his police report, Jager claimed Killinger had “conflicting identification” and said he “lacked satisfactory evidence” to confirm his identity.

YouTube/EWU Bodycam

Bodycam footage shows Jager reviewing both Killinger’s ID and the casino’s record for Michael Ellis. The officer acknowledged that the AI system viewed the two men as a 99.9% match. He then searched police databases to determine whether Killinger was using a fake ID or concealing his real identity.

“I have a feeling he’s somehow making some fake identification or something,” Jager said on camera.

Unable to resolve the discrepancy, Jager arrested Killinger and transported him to jail. Fingerprints later conclusively proved Killinger was not the banned individual. Even before that confirmation, the footage shows Jager telling colleagues that after speaking with Killinger, he “genuinely kinda believed” he was telling the truth.

Man wrongfully arrested for AI mistake still has criminal record

Killinger was released after fingerprint verification confirmed his identity. Since then, he has settled a claim with the Peppermill Casino, but his lawsuit against Jager remains ongoing.

In the complaint, Killinger argues that Jager violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. He alleges the officer omitted key exculpatory evidence from his report, including the fingerprint results, and falsely portrayed him as uncooperative. The lawsuit claims those omissions amounted to fabrication by concealment.

The filing also states that after Killinger’s identity was confirmed, his arrest paperwork was changed from John Doe to Jason Killinger. This resulted in Killinger being listed for prosecution on a trespassing charge, despite only Michael Ellis having been trespassed from the casino. The charge was eventually dismissed, but Killinger now has a criminal record.

YouTube/EWU Bodycam

Killinger is seeking compensatory, special, and punitive damages. No specific amounts have been disclosed. The case is expected to go to trial next year.

The incident is the latest example of AI systems causing serious real-world consequences when used by law enforcement and private security.

Earlier in 2025, armed officers surrounded a 16-year-old student outside Kenwood High School in Baltimore after an AI gun detection system falsely flagged a Doritos bag as a firearm.

Months later, a middle school was briefly placed on lockdown when a similar system misidentified a student holding a clarinet as a weapon.