AI security system mistakes student's bag of Doritos for weapon

(NewsNation) — Armed police handcuffed and searched a student after his Maryland high school's artificial intelligence-driven security system mistook a bag of chips for a gun.

The student, Taki Allen, was sitting with friends after football practice outside of Kenwood High School in Essex, Maryland, last week, when armed police officers showed up and handcuffed him, according to local outlet WBAL in Baltimore.

"They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me. Then, they searched me and they figured out I had nothing,” Allen told WBAL.

Allen said that police told him an AI detector had flagged the crumpled bag of chips in his pocket as a weapon.

“The first thing I was wondering was, was I about to die? Because they had a gun pointed at me,” Allen told WBAL.

“I was just holding a Doritos bag — it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” he added.

Baltimore County officials call for review of the system

"We understand how upsetting this was for the individual that was searched as well as the other students who witnessed the incident. ... Please know that ensuring the safety of our students and school community is one of our highest priorities," Kenwood's principal, Kate Smith, said in a letter to parents following the incident.

However, some argue that immediate action is needed to prevent something like this from happening again.

"I am calling on Baltimore County Public Schools to review procedures around its AI-powered weapon detection system," Baltimore County Councilman Izzy Patoka wrote in a post on Facebook.

Another councilman, Julian Jones, echoed the call for a review of the AI system "to make sure there are safeguards in place so this type of error does not happen again," according to WBAL.

Baltimore County has been using the security system since 2023

In 2023, Baltimore County public schools began using the AI-driven security system, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said in a news conference following the incident. The system relies on existing school cameras to detect weapons.

The company that operates the system, Omnilert, expressed its regret but clarified that the technology worked correctly in a statement to CNN: "We regret that this incident occurred and wish to convey our concern to the student and the wider community affected by the events that followed.”

“While the object was later determined not to be a firearm, the process functioned as intended: to prioritize safety and awareness through rapid human verification,” the company added.