Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Title: The DEA abandons bodycams after only four years

Date: Wed, 07 May 2025 17:28:43 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/cameras/the-dea-aban...

"We welcome the addition of body-worn cameras and appreciate the enhanced
transparency and assurance they provide," a then-DEA official wrote in a 2021
press release. So much for that. ProPublica published an investigative report
on Tuesday that details how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under
the Trump administration has abandoned its bodycam program.

The DEA announced the change internally through an email, viewed by
ProPublica. However, the agency never made a formal announcement or any
public acknowledgment of its about-face.

The DEA's email said it made the change to be "consistent" with Trump's
"Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions" order, signed
on Inauguration Day. The action rescinded 78 Biden-era executive orders,
including the one that expanded federal law enforcement's use of body
cameras.

ProPublica notes that the "consistent" rationale for bailing on the program
is questionable. Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) beat the
DEA to the punch in abandoning bodycams ΓÇö shocker! ΓÇö other DOJ agencies
still use them. These include the US Marshals Service and the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Axon

The common sentiment is that bodycams' sole purpose is to keep law
enforcement officers from abusing power. But that's only part of the
equation. It also protects them. "The vast majority of times I viewed body
camera footage is based on allegations from a defense attorney about what a
cop did," David DeVillers, a former US attorney for the Southern District of
Ohio, told ProPublica. "And I would say 95 percent of the time it absolves
the cop of wrongdoing."

Studies have consistently found that body cameras correlate with reduced
complaints against officers. However, it isn't clear whether that's from
people filing fewer frivolous complaints or because officers with cameras
behave better. Regardless, the DEA's positive framing of the devices from
four years ago is backed by data.

The DOJ began requiring federal agents to wear bodycams in 2021. At that
time, George Floyd's murder and the resulting protests were still fresh on
people's minds. "Law enforcement is at its most effective when there is
accountability and trust between law enforcement and the community," then-
Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote that September.

Meanwhile, a lucrative contract suggests the DEA's abandonment flies in the
face of one of the Trump administration's stated priorities. In 2021, the DOJ
inked a $30.4 million deal with Axon to use its cameras and software for the
federal program. Axon says the contract is still active, and around five-
sixths of the sum is still due. Funny how selective one can be in pursuing
"government efficiency."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/cameras/the-dea-aban...
years-172843162.html?src=rss

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