AI Blunder: Doritos Bag Triggers Police Swarm, Teen Cuffed at Baltimore School

In a startling incident that highlights the persistent challenges of artificial intelligence in security, a Baltimore high school student faced a harrowing encounter with police after an AI-powered security system reportedly misidentified his crumpled bag of Doritos as a weapon.

The unfortunate event unfolded when Taki Allen, a high school student, entered his school campus through an automated security checkpoint. According to reports from NBC affiliate WBAL-TV 11, the AI-guided system appears to have flagged a bag of chips in his pocket as a potential gun.

A Teenager’s Terrifying Ordeal

Following football practice, Allen was sitting with friends outside the school when multiple police vehicles converged on their location. “It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us,” Allen recounted to WBAL-TV 11 News. “At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?'”

The situation escalated rapidly. Allen was made to kneel, his hands were cuffed behind his back, and he was thoroughly searched. “Then, they searched me, and they figured out I had nothing,” he explained. It was only after this intense search that officers located the innocuous snack bag on the floor where Allen had been standing. Reflecting on the terrifying moments, Allen shared his profound fear: “It was mainly like, am I gonna die? Are they going to kill me? They showed me the picture, said that looks like a gun, I said, ‘no, it’s chips.’”

School Response and Technology Details

The school principal provided a statement, shedding more light on the sequence of events. At approximately 7 p.m., school administration received an alert regarding a possible weapon on school grounds. The Department of School Safety and Security quickly reviewed and subsequently canceled the initial alert after confirming no weapon was present. However, the school resource officer (SRO) was contacted and, in turn, requested additional support from the local police precinct. Police officers responded, conducted their search, and confirmed the individual was not in possession of any weapons.

While neither police nor school officials explicitly confirmed the Doritos bag as the cause of the alarm, they did not deny its involvement in the false positive. This incident puts a spotlight on the AI security solution deployed in Baltimore County Public Schools.

The security system in question is provided by Omnilert, a company that describes itself as a “pioneer in AI-powered active shooter prevention technology.” Omnilert’s website explicitly states it offers AI gun detection solutions to schools. Allen’s school reportedly began using this software last year to enhance campus safety by detecting potential threats.

This event serves as a stark reminder of the critical need for accuracy and refinement in AI-driven security systems, particularly when human lives and civil liberties are at stake.