Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: December 5, 2023
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion, and possible approval of and authorization to execute a five-year contract with Axon International for the purchase of one-hundred twenty (120) Taser brand conductive electrical weapons (CEWs) and Approve and authorize execution of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Amendment Number 16
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Background:
Since the early 2000s the Broken Arrow Police Department has used the Taser conductive electrical weapon (CEW) as part of its less lethal response to resistance. Tasers have a manufacturer's recommended life span of five years. For many years, we've purchased around 30 Tasers per fiscal year to keep the devices modern and within manufacturer's recommendations.
Axon, the parent company of Taser, is a sole-source provider of the Taser product. Taser is widely used throughout the police industry and there is no comparable competitor. Axon has been publishing statements about sweeping product changes and cost increases for some time. These revolve around the "de-platforming" of their legacy X2 line and the introduction of the new Taser 10 product.
Staff has extensively examined the Taser 10. It has several new advantageous features. These include extended range from 25' to 45', it can fire ten times instead of just twice and operators do not have to achieve probe spread on the target for the device to be effective. This is because it uses built in computer technology to adjust the amount of charge delivered to a target. It is our recommendation to enter the contract to purchase enough Taser 10s to equip the Operations Division of the police department. From an operations perspective, it will be more efficient to have the Operations Division using standardized equipment. Also, training and certification can more easily be achieved in larger sessions which approval here will enable. Subsequent smaller purchases during FY26 will be aimed at equipping the Headquarters Division and...
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