Axon, Body Cams, and the Truth They Don't Want You to See
When police body cameras were first introduced, they were sold to the public as tools of transparency. A way to capture the truth. A mechanism to protect both officers and civilians. But for some departments, especially in New York, body-worn cameras have become something far more insidious: tools of control — only useful when they support the official narrative, and quietly buried when they don’t.
At the center of this deception is Axon, the billion-dollar tech company that dominates the body camera market in the United States. Their products are used by thousands of departments nationwide, including the New Rochelle Police Department, where Officer Lane Schlesinger’s misconduct record reveals exactly how this “accountability” technology can be manipulated — and ignored.
Footage Missing in Action
According to internal affairs reports, FOIL documents, and civilian complaints, Schlesinger routinely failed to activate his body-worn camera (BWC) during incidents where his behavior was later questioned. These were not technical malfunctions — they were repeated violations of department policy. In at least two separate special duty assignments in 2022, Schlesinger was cited for not maintaining his BWC in a constant state of operational readiness.
This wasn’t just a rules violation. It was a strategy.
In one particularly egregious case, Schlesinger allegedly falsified a police report used to charge a civilian — Marc Fishman — with criminal trespass. Yet there was no BWC footage to corroborate his claims. Had the footage existed, it could have proven the arrest was unfounded — and the narrative, a lie.
The Axon Shell Game
What makes this even more troubling is how Axon’s evidence storage systems, used by departments to archive footage, often work in tandem with departmental discretion — not independent oversight. Officers or superiors can mark videos “restricted,” delay uploads, or claim footage is corrupted or never captured. Axon doesn’t independently review these claims; they simply provide the infrastructure and let departments do the rest.
The result? A public system designed for private manipulation.
When attorneys or journalists submit FOIL or subpoena requests for BWC footage, they’re often told the videos don't exist — or worse, that they were never recorded in the first place. Without criminal consequences for policy violations, officers have no real incentive to comply with the rules.
Not Just New Rochelle
This isn’t a local problem. Across the state — and the country — body cam non-compliance is rampant. But rarely is it punished. In New Rochelle, Schlesinger’s repeated BWC violations were documented internally, yet he was never suspended, and retired with a full pension.
In some of the very same cases referred to the Attorney General’s Office, the missing or misused body camera footage should have triggered deeper scrutiny. Instead, the AG’s office took no public action — even after being alerted to Schlesinger’s pattern misconduct through multiple official channels.
Public Tools, Private Protection
Body-worn cameras were meant to be eyes for the public — unblinking, unbiased. But when the systems behind them are built on closed platforms, internal discretion, and political protection, they become tools of selective memory.
And the truth? The truth doesn’t disappear. It’s turned off.
If you're wondering where the missing footage is, you should be asking: who benefits when the cameras don’t roll?