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Federal officers at<\/span> the scene of a killing by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Maine were wearing body cameras, according to four ICE officials who reviewed images from the scene \u2014 but the cameras are on multi-function devices that ICE officers use as radio mics.<\/p>\n After an ICE officer shot and killed a 25-year-old<\/a> Colombian national this week in Biddeford, Maine<\/a>, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin reportedly told Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, that officers involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras.<\/p>\n Yet the ICE officials who spoke with The Intercept, all of whom requested anonymity to protect their livelihoods, identified cameras among the equipment worn by two ICE officers nearby in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.<\/p>\n The body-worn devices were not designed solely to capture evidential video, and are used primarily as remote microphones for ICE officers\u2019 radio communications. (ICE did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n \u201cWe are currently only using them as mics because of the AXON contract.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n ICE officials who spoke to The Intercept identified the accessories worn by ICE officers on the scene of the Maine shooting as Motorola SVX Video Remote Speaker Microphones, a wireless radio mic with one other important feature: a camera. (Motorola did not respond to a request to comment.)<\/p>\n Although the Motorola SVX worn by ICE officers are designed to work as body cameras, the ICE official said the function isn\u2019t used.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have multiple functionalities,\u201d one ICE official who identified the Motorola SVX at the scene in Maine told The Intercept. \u201cHowever, we are currently only using them as mics because of the AXON contract.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security, ICE\u2019s parent agency, purchases body-worn cameras through a contract with Axon, a law enforcement tech firm<\/a>. (Axon did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n Another ICE official showed The Intercept where, on their own Motorola SVX, a cover can be attached to the top of the device where the camera lens is, comparing it to the tech worn by officers at the Maine shooting scene.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where the cover clips over the camera lens,\u201d the second ICE officer said. \u201cSince the cameras don\u2019t work they just leave the cover on.\u201d<\/p>\n The SVX mics worn by ICE are designed to record internally, capable of storing over 100 hours of standard-definition video, according to Motorola promotional materials and a technical support line. The video-recording function on the SVX mic, however, requires a subscription.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Motorola is a giant in the world of government law enforcement and security work. <\/p>\n According to a document<\/a> published on the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s website, ICE alone expects to spend more than $100 million on a six-year contract for Motorola\u2019s line of APX Next All-Band Smart Radios and accessories, which would include the SVX mic.<\/p>\n The deadly ICE shooting of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero in Maine<\/a> stoked national outrage, coming on the heels of another fatal ICE shooting<\/a> of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.<\/p>\n Neither man, according to news reports, had been the intended targets of the ICE arrest teams. And neither man\u2019s death was captured by federal officers\u2019 body-worn cameras, according to official reports.<\/p>\n Shortly after the Maine shooting, ICE ordered its officers in the field to halt nearly all traffic stops<\/a>. After reports of the order emerged and Trump complained<\/a>, border czar Tom Homan pivoted<\/a> to say the ICE vehicle stops would continue.<\/p>\n\n
No Bodycam Footage<\/strong><\/h2>\n