ANTIOCH – The Antioch Police Department will be replacing outdated Tasers as part of a nearly $3-million technology upgrade that also includes cameras and other recording systems.
The City Council voted 4-0 on Tuesday to approve a five-year agreement not exceeding $2.9 million with Axon Enterprises Inc. for various hardware and operating system software. Councilmember Monica Wilson was absent.
The cost for the upgrades will be funded through the existing appropriations in the 2025-2026 Police Department budget.
According to a staff report, the department has been utilizing Axon X26 Tasers since 2008. They received an update in 2013, but have not been replaced since. It noted the current model is “obsolete and has since gone through several generational changes” with upgraded technological capacity.
In 2021, the City Council voted down the purchase of new Tasers following opposition from some residents.
Antioch Police Chief Joe Vigil said the purchase of the new Tasers has better integration that will sync with the department’s cameras.
“So, if a Taser comes out and is activated, we will be able to sync it to our cameras, it will turn on the other cameras,” said Vigil. “But more importantly, we will be able to track and pull the data from the Taser when it’s used.”
Vigil said the department is unable to do that now because the Tasers are “outdated and they don’t talk to the computer system,” making it harder to view data when officers utilize them.
Apart from Tasers, the department will also be updating its body-worn cameras for staff and cameras for patrol vehicles.
Antioch first inked an agreement with Axon in 2021 for body-worn cameras, following the City Council’s approval. However, some technological features could not be utilized, according to the city.
Vigil said that under the new contract with Axon, the department will receive the latest version.
“And it’s the same thing with our (patrol vehicles) camera. We haven’t had a car camera update since we went live in the early part of 2022, and the technology has significantly changed,” said Vigil. “Better speakers, better optics, better connectivity, and on top of that, we utilize evidence.com, a cloud-based system that retains everything.”
There will also be automated license plate readers with unlimited storage included with the in-car systems. Axon Signal, which automatically activates cameras based on triggers such as crashes and speed, will also be utilized.
According to the city, Axon will provide eight lightpost situational awareness or automated license plate reader cameras, which will be placed on fixed streetlights to gather information.
The department will also upgrade its recording systems in its five interview rooms, including new video and audio equipment that allows for direct uploading of media.
“The camera technology that we’re utilizing now is very dated. It’s very old, and we don’t want to risk the chance of having a case go to the district attorney’s office, where poor camera quality in the interview room determines whether or not that case gets filed,” said Vigil.
The $2.9 million contract also includes Axon Performance, an audit dashboard for supervisors to review videos from officers’ cameras and ensure they are “doing the right thing” when they are out on the streets.
“This is going to give them the opportunity to audit videos in connection with the memorandum (of understanding with the U.S Department of Justice), where we can have that level of oversight and transparency that will exist,” said Vigil.
Other updates include Fusus, a real-time crime center platform; virtual reality training, which comprises virtual de-escalation training for officers; auto-tagging, which automatically correlates videos with incident or dispatch information; and Community Request, which enables officers to collect digital evidence by sending links to community members. It also enables the community to upload videos and pictures they take of an incident.
The contract also includes Fusus+, which provides GPS, live streaming, two-way communication, and alerts for body-worn cameras, as well as Redaction Assistant, an artificial intelligence tool designed to streamline audio or video redactions.