NYPD suspends use of body camera model after one explodes; Oakland uses same model

The New York City Police Department has suspended use of a model of body camera after one exploded.

The NYPD says an officer noticed smoke coming from the Vievu LE-5 body camera on Saturday night. The officer removed it and the device exploded. No one was injured.

The NYPD says that the explosion revealed a potential for the battery to ignite, and that the cameras are being removed out of an abundance of caution.

The 2,990 LE-5 cameras are being removed. In a statement, Axon, Vievu's parent company, says it will do whatever is necessary to quickly and safely resolve the situation.

The NYPD says more than 15,000 body cameras are deployed throughout the department. Officers using other models will continue to wear them.

In Oakland, police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said the department has “several hundred” of this same model. On Monday, Oakland police were reaching out to representatives with the NYPD to get more information about what happened, Watson said.

"Our top concern is officer safety," she said.

And they're asking working with representatives of the manufacturer to see if the problem may affect OPD’s body-worn cameras.

Watson said they are taking inventory of their older model cameras in storage, to see if they need to bring them out to temporarily replace the LE 5’s.