A high-school football player was eating a bag of Doritos after practice last week when the school’s AI security cameras mistook his snack for a gun — prompting scores of cops to rush there with guns drawn.
Taki Allen, 16, said he was waiting for his ride after Monday’s grid practice at Kenwood High School in Baltimore when he finished up his chips, crumpled up the bag and was chatting with his friends — then heard cops yelling at him while waving their weapons.
“Police showed up, like eight cop cars, and then they all came out with guns pointed at me talking about getting on the ground. I was putting my hands up like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Allen told WMAR-2 News.
Artificial intelligence that reviews the school’s security camera footage had flagged Allen’s Doritos as a gun, alerting law enforcement, authorities said.
Some officers quickly cuffed Allen, patting him down, while others searched his friends.
“Do you have a gun on you?” one of the officers asked in bodycam footage obtained by CBS.
Allen, appearing distressed and confused as the officer rifled through his pockets, replied, “What? No.”
Police officers then reviewed the footage that the AI had flagged, wandered over to a nearby trash can and discovered the bag of chips.
“I guess just the way you were eating chips … Doritos, whatever …. it picked it up as a gun,” an officer said of the security system.
Another cop said, “AI is not the best.”
The Oct. 20 incident has left Allen feeling on edge at school, the teen said. He said he no longer feels safe going outside after practice and waits inside the school now to avoid the cameras.
“I don’t want … don’t think I’m safe enough to go outside, especially eating a bag of chips or drinking something. I just stay inside until my ride comes,” Allen said.
School administrators have stood by the AI detection system, Omnilert, which is used by schools and law enforcement across the country.
“In this case, the program did what it was supposed to do,” said district Superintendent Myriam Rogers in a press conference Thursday.
But Allen said he isn’t so sure the system is working.
“I don’t think no chip bag should be mistaken for a gun at all,” he said.
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