DETROIT – Detroit police Chief James Craig is continuing to campaign for facial recognition technology, but as he does so, his critics believe it's time to stop the push.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, is now among those critics.
Craig insists the Detroit Police Department will use the technology as one of many tools to help fight crime.
"I'm absolutely confident the way we use this technology is the way it should be used," Craig said.
While the chief is confident, many others, including police commissioners, expressed concerns about the possibility of misidentification of people.
On Tuesday, Tlaib added her thoughts on Twitter, writing, "Detroit police -- you should probably re-think this whole facial recognition (expletive)."
"To me, when you use that kind of language of a tool we use to abate violence in the city, I find it disrespectful," Craig said.
Local 4's Jermont Terry asked if Craig believes the congresswoman is politicizing his efforts.
"What's her true intent? I don't know," Craig said.
He said he saw Tlaib over the weekend and she was silent.
"Not once did she approach me and say, 'I know facial recognition is a big deal and I'd want to see if I can understand,'" Craig said. "Not one question. Not one comment."
As he awaits a vote from the police commission to move forward, Craig said he thinks Tlaib is, at the very least, ill-informed.
"I'm going to reserve my opinion about whether or not she's politicizing this," Craig said. "I think it's best left with your viewers."