Taki Allen is a typical 16-year-old high school student from Maryland. When he and his friends were waiting for rides after football practice at Kenwood High School in Baltimore on October 20, 2025, he never expected police to show up. But when multiple cars ascended on the campus, Allen was even more shocked when they approached him as if he’d done something wrong. They had guns drawn and Allen knew something wasn’t right.
The teenager told WBAL that police weren’t messing around.
“It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us. 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?'” he said.
After finishing his snack, Allen apparently crumpled the Doritos bag and put it in his pocket. Allen later learned that the school’s AI detection software had mistaken his bag of Doritos for a weapon.
“They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me. Then, they searched me and they figured out I had nothing,” Allen recalled to WBAL.
Police later showed him the photo that triggered the artificial intelligence detector.
“I was just holding a Doritos bag — it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” Allen said.
Baltimore County Police sent a statement to WBAL the day after the chip bag incident.
“On Monday evening, at approximately 7:20 p.m., officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. Once on scene, the person was searched and it was determined the subject was not in possession of any weapons. I would refer you to BCPS regarding questions pertaining to Omnilert,” the statement reads.
Superintendent Myriam Rogers told media the school district began using the AI detection program last year, and the results pleased her, per WMAR.
“The program is based on human verification and in this case the program did what it was supposed to do which was to signal an alert and for humans to take a look to find out if there was cause for concern in that moment,” Rogers said.
Kenwood High School principal Kate Smith shared a letter with parents about the incident obtained by WMAR.
“Please know that ensuring the safety of our students and school community is one of our highest priorities,” the letter read.
But Allen told WMAR the principal allegedly took her time addressing the situation with him.
“I was expecting them to at least come up to me after the situation or the day after, but three days later that just shows like, do you really care or are you just doing it because the superintendent called me,” Allen said.
The incident really bothered Allen, who told WMAR that when football practice ends, he just wants to stay put.
“Now, I feel like sometimes after practice I don’t go outside anymore. Cause if I go outside, I don’t want – don’t think I’m safe enough to go outside, especially eating a bag of chips or drinking something. I just stay inside until my ride comes,” he explained.
What a sad situation for this poor kid. We’re all for school safety and anything that can help keep guns out of schools. AI has come a long way, but unfortunately, it’s not perfect. Thankfully, no one suffered any injuries, but had police reacted even slightly more aggressively, this could have ended very differently.
