ICE at Maine Shooting Scene Had Body Cameras, Not Turned On

Key Points:

• Federal officers at the scene of an ICE shooting in Maine were wearing Motorola SVX devices with built-in cameras, but these were used only as radio microphones, not for video recording, according to ICE officials.
• Despite Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin telling a senator that officers were not wearing body cameras during the shooting, ICE insiders confirmed cameras were present but covered and inactive due to an existing contract with Axon for body-worn cameras.
• The Motorola SVX devices can record video but require a subscription, and ICE currently does not use this function, opting instead to cover the camera lens on the devices worn by officers.
• The recent fatal ICE shootings in Maine and Houston, neither captured on body cameras, have sparked national outrage and raised questions about ICE’s use and distribution of body-worn cameras.
• While ICE has ordered body cameras for all arrest teams, deployment is incomplete, with half of field offices equipped and the remainder expected to receive cameras within two months; this follows scrutiny over ICE’s contracts and financial ties with Axon, a major law enforcement tech firm.