What you should know
- An investigation is underway after a NYPD officer noticed that a body camera was smoking and removed it; then the device turned on. The officer was not injured, but was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
- The cameras in question are the Axon AB2s, which represent less than 9% of the 23,000 body cameras deployed throughout the system. Axon says it helped the New York Police Department inspect everything that was in use and took any device in question out of service.
- The cause and extent of the defect are currently under investigation, but manufacturer Axon says it does not believe there is a systemic problem with its AB2.
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NEW YORK – NYPD is removing 2,000 body cameras from the field after one began to smoke while an officer was wearing it a day ago and ignited when the officer removed it, law enforcement authorities confirmed Wednesday.
Commissioner Dermot Shea demanded immediate examination of all Axon AB2 model cameras, representing less than 9% of the 23,000 body cameras deployed throughout the department, after Tuesday’s incident to check for possible defects.
In this case, an officer assigned to Barracks 34 was wearing this model of camera and noticed smoke coming from the lower portal. The policeman immediately removed it. Then “the device turned on,” according to the NYPD statement.
The officer was not injured, but was taken to a hospital as a precaution and has since been released, the department said.
According to the NYPD, Tuesday’s incident revealed a possible problem with the battery inside the Axon AB2 model camera. The cause and extent of the defect are currently under investigation, but specialists who were deployed throughout the city on Tuesday after the failure found some devices with problems, authorities said.
All officers who had been using Axon AB2 cameras have been told to stop using them immediately and return them to their commandos for inspection. That model is currently implemented in 13 commands within the department. All those cameras are expected to be inspected by the end of Thursday. The battery and back panel will be replaced in any case where there is a sign of a problem.
The NYPD was in the process of phasing out these cameras for the newer model, Axon AB3. The department says the AB2 battery issue does not belong to or in any way affect officers currently using that model, which accounts for more than 80% of body cameras deployed by NYPD, law enforcement officials said.
“Those officers will continue to use them as required by the Patrol Guide,” NYPD spokeswoman Detective Annette Shelton said in a statement. “Axon is conducting a forensic investigation and any additional evidence will inform our action plan.”
Axon confirmed to our sister network NBC 4 New York in a statement that it received a report of a single incident of an AB2 body camera overheating. The camera involved was quarantined and sent to an external laboratory for X-ray and material analysis. Results are expected in a few days.
“Axon has worked closely with the NYPD to better understand the root cause of this event and assess any potential risk to its officers and mitigate that risk as quickly as possible,” the company said.
Axon says it partnered with the New York Police Department to personally conduct AB2 camera inspections at the 13 barracks that use them and removed from service anyone who appeared to have problems with their appearance or performance.
“These cameras were replaced with replacement AB2 cameras, allowing all NYPD commandos to continue to operate and serve their communities without disruption,” the statement said. “The Axon / NYPD team has completed their comprehensive inspection of all AB2s. We will continue to advance the investigation and share all results with the NYPD. At this time, we do not believe this is a systemic issue with the Axon AB2 camera product.”
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