NEW YORK — The NYPD deployed specialists citywide for body camera inspections after an officer’s device ignited, police said Tuesday.
The officer noticed smoke coming out of their Axon AB2 body camera and pulled it off, officials said. Once it was off, the device ignited. An investigation found there was a possible issue with the battery.
Out of 23,000 NYPD body-worn cameras, there are 2,000 Axon AB2 devices, officials said. The NYPD was already in the process of phasing them out for a different model.
“Yesterday, following this incident, the NYPD immediately deployed specialists citywide to inspect the Axon AB2 body worn cameras. and have found some problematic devices with the battery bowing out,” police said in a statement. “Citywide, all officers assigned Axon AB2 cameras were instructed to immediately remove the cameras and bring them back to their commands for inspection. By the end of business today, December 7, all Axon AB2 cameras will have been inspected.”
The officer whose body camera ignited was taken to a hospital “out of an abundance of caution” for treatment, officials said.