City Council Meeting Date: December 7, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Mark Elliott, Chief of Police
Title
Consider approval of a new five-year agreement between the City of Northfield and Axon for Police Department Tasers.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council is asked to consider at Motion approving the attached Quote between Axon Corporation and the City of Northfield and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement.
Summary Report:
The Council is asked to approve the agreement between Axon Corporation and the City of Northfield for the City to provide Taser 7 devices and associated equipment supplies and training materials to the police department as described in the agreement. The annual cost of the purchase falls within department head and city administrator approval range, but the total cost of the contract brings it over that amount, so this item is before the Council for approval.
The police department has been using the Taser product for many years and has found it to be an effective less lethal tool for controlling dangerous and combative subjects, and a very effective de-escalation tool as well. The police department has a policy on the use of Tasers (Conducted Energy Weapons). This is one of the policies that was reviewed by the community police policy task force in 2021.
The officers currently carry the model X26P. The department has 10 Taser devices that are due for a new 5 year contract in the next few months. The Police Chief is recommending upgrading to the Taser 7 device as there have been numerous advancements made to the device in the technology behind the operation of the device which has improved safety and effectiveness, further enhancing the de-escalation capabilities. The Taser 7 also integrates adaptive connection technology to communicate with other Tasers and Axon devices such as the department's body cameras and squad cameras. An activation of the Taser ...
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