BALTIMORE, Md. (WBFF) -- The Baltimore Police Department has released body camera footage Saturday of a 16-year-old student being detained after an A.I. gun detection system, developed by security company Omnilert, mistook his bag of chips for a gun.
Authorities said on Monday around 7:20 p.m., Precinct 11-Essex officers responded to Kenwood High School for a report of a suspicious person with a weapon.
Taki Allen was sitting with friends after football practice when armed police officers suddenly surrounded him.
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At 7:25 p.m. on October 20, body camera footage captured one police officer asking Allen, "You got a gun on you?" Allen replied "No, what?" Officers then asked if Allen had anything blue on him like a phone, which he replied that only his shoes were blue.
Allen was searched and police determined he wasn't in possession of any weapons.
"The cameras around the system that pick up on things that look like guns, I guess just the way you guys were eating chips, Doritos, whatever, it picked it up as a gun. That's all," one officer said.
Allen was then let go.
The software, introduced last year, scans existing school surveillance cameras for signs of weapons. If a potential threat is detected, it alerts law enforcement in real time.
In a statement, Omnilert expressed regret, acknowledging that the image "closely resembled a gun being held." The company called it a "false positive," but defended the system's response, stating it "functioned as intended: to prioritize safety and awareness through rapid human verification."
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) sent a letter home to parents, reinforcing Omnilert's message and noting that counseling services would be available to students affected.
"I just in that moment, I didn't feel safe. I didn't feel like the school actually cared about me because nobody came up to me after, not even the principal," Allen told FOX45 News.
BPD said in a statement:
The officers responded appropriately and proportionally based on the information provided at the time. The incident was safely resolved after it was determined there was no threat. In the statement BCPS provided to community members, the school system explained the chain of events that resulted in the Department's response. The alert was cancelled by the BCPS Safety Team. The principal, who did not see the cancellation, contacted our School Resource Officer. The SRO then contacted officers at the Essex Precinct."