Baltimore Teen Cuffed By Cops Over Bag Of Doritos
Black Baltimore County High School Student Handcuffed After AI Tech Mistook Bag Of Chips For Weapon
Look, maybe it’s time the tech world rethinks having AI technology do the job of law enforcement, particularly in the Black community. Not that human cops don’t do a fine job of making Black people feel terrorized rather than protected all on their own, but when AI surveillance systems are out here mistaking Dorito bags for deadly weapons—resulting in Black teenagers being handcuffed at school—it might be safe to say the artificial “intelligence” is running the risk of making things worse.
According to WBAL-TV, Taki Allen, a student at Kenwood High School in Baltimore County, was sitting with friends outside of the school Monday night when armed officers approached him and searched him for what was reported as a weapon.
It was a bag of chips.
“It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us. At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?'” 16-year-old Taki told WBAL-TV.
“They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me,” he recalled. “Then, they searched me and they figured out I had nothing, Then, they went over to where I was standing and found a bag of chips on the floor.”
Officers reportedly told Allen an AI detector mistook his bag of Doritos for a weapon, which was probably of little comfort to a Black teen who was minding his own business when he was swarmed by cops and treated like a criminal.
“I was just holding a Doritos bag—it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” Allen said.
It’s worth pointing out that both Baltimore County police and the school officials appeared to downplay what happened to Taki, describing it as a brief detainment and release without incident.
“On Monday evening, at approximately 7:20 p.m., officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. Once on scene, the person was searched and it was determined the subject was not in possession of any weapons. I would refer you to BCPS regarding questions pertaining to Omnilert,” the police department wrote in a statement.
The statement released by Kenwood’s principal claimed officers “responded to the school, searched the individual and quickly confirmed that they were not in possession of any weapons,” which certainly sounds less dramatic than what Taki described, which was being approached by a team of officers with drawn guns, taken to the ground, and handcuffed before he was searched and released.
The statement also noted that the “Department of School Safety and Security quickly reviewed and canceled the initial alert after confirming there was no weapon,” and that the principal “contacted our school resource officer (SRO) and reported the matter to him, and he contacted the local precinct for additional support,” none of which explains why officers showed up anyway and handcuffed the student.
Again, cops are a problem in Black communities all by themselves. From Andre Hill to Stephon Clark to Kilyn Lewis to Rekia Boyd to Donovan Lewis, incidents have happened in which officers claimed to have mistaken cellphones, pens, or other non-threatening objects for guns, resulting in unarmed Black people getting shot and killed. What happened to Taki Allen due to the obvious imperfections of AI technology could have ended tragically—and over a bag of chips.
SEE ALSO:
How Inequity Is Coded Into Surveillance Tech
CBC Legislative Conference Takes On Artificial Intelligence
