The New York City Department of Corrections said it has suspended its use of body cameras after one of the devices caught fire, hospitalizing an officer.
The camera ignited “without warning” during use at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island on Friday, resulting in the unidentified captain suffering burns and smoke inhalation, DOC press secretary Annais Morales said in an emailed statement.
“The safety of our staff is paramount, which is why I am removing all body-worn cameras from service out of an abundance of caution while we investigate how and why this incident occurred,” said Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie.
New York City's Department of Correction has temporarily pulled over 3,000 body-worn cameras after a camera caught fire and injured a correction captain, a department spokeswoman said.
The investigation into the DOC’s 3,480 cameras, identified as the Reveal Media D5 series, is expected to take one to two weeks. The DOC is in contact with the camera manufacturer to determine how the incident occurred, according to a DOC spokesperson.
Reveal did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
In 2018 the NYPD suspended its use of certain body-worn cameras after one reportedly exploded during use. An investigation into the incident found that the battery had the potential to ignite inside of the camera, NBC New York reported at the time.
The officer was in the George R. Vierno Center in Rikers Island, pictured, when the incident occurred.
The devices used by the DOC are similar to ones used by the NYPD ― which reports the nation’s largest body-worn camera program ― but they are not the same kind, a NYPD spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost.
The city’s correctional facilities have a long history of abuse and negligence toward its inmates, resulting in the notorious Rikers Island complex being ordered to close by 2027 due to safety and humanitarian concerns.
A federal monitor has also been appointed to review the prisons following a 2015 civil rights lawsuit alleging cruel and unusual punishment. That monitor described the DOC’s facilities last fall as increasingly “dangerous and unsafe” to both staff and those in custody.
The federal monitor appointed to oversee the city jails has been made aware of the decision to temporarily remove the body cameras, the DOC said on Monday.
There is “still significant surveillance at all DOC facilities,” with more than 12,400 security cameras operating 24/7 in all facilities, a spokesperson said.
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