ICE officers wore body-camera equipped radios in Maine shooting, but devices were not activated
Four ICE officials confirmed that agents at the Biddeford, Maine shooting were equipped with Motorola SVX devices that include a camera, yet the cameras were covered and not used for recording, according to agency contracts.
Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents present at the scene of a shooting in Biddeford, Maine, were wearing Motorola SVX Video Remote Speaker Microphones, which incorporate a camera, four ICE officials said. The devices are primarily used as radio microphones under ICE's contract with Axon, and the camera function has not been activated.
One official explained that the equipment "has multiple functionalities" but is "currently only using them as mics because of the AXON contract." Another officer demonstrated a cover that can be placed over the lens, noting that "since the cameras don’t work they just leave the cover on."
The SVX units can store more than 100 hours of video internally, but recording requires a subscription that ICE has not enabled. Homeland Security’s procurement documents show ICE expects to spend over $100 million on Motorola radios and accessories over six years.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin had previously told Senator Angus King that officers involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras. ICE later ordered a pause to most traffic stops following the incident, a directive that was later modified after political criticism.
The shooting, which resulted in the death of 25-year-old Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, occurred amid heightened scrutiny of ICE’s use of force and its rollout of body-worn cameras, a program that the agency says is still being completed.