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 7 will activate all body and squad cameras within Bluetooth connectivity range, thus increasing the chance of capturing video of a sudden attack or use.
The cost of the Taser 7 device is higher than the previous costs of the X26P, but is in line with other price increases in equipment replacement the department has seen when accounting for increased technological abilities and inflation. The contract also includes necessary training cartridges for annual officer training and replacement cartridges for uses. The department will receive a credit for trading in the current X26P devices. The costs for the devices is included in the departments operating budget under equipment replacement.
Alternative Options:
The alternative to this option is to not provide this equipment to the officers. Staff does not recommend this course of action as it is detrimental to the work the officers perform and the safety of the officers and community members.
Financial Impacts:
The cost of the program over 5 years is $79, 991.17. This is below the State Contract Cooperative Purchase Price of $82,800. The annual cost of the purchase is $23,999.97 in the first year, and $13,997.80 in subsequent years two through five. As stated earlier these are funds already set in the annual department budget.
Tentative Timelines:
After approval of the agreement new equipment and training will take place in January.