REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
May 21, 2015
FROM: JERRY DYER, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: ROBERT NEVAREZ, Deputy Chief
Administrative Services Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to purchasing body-worn cameras and conducted electrical weapons for the Fresno Police Department:
1. Authorize the Chief of Police to specify TASER International, Inc., without substitution, for the purchase and rotating replacement of 400 TASER Axon flex body-worn video cameras and 400 Conducted Electrical Weapons (CEW's, also known as "Tasers"), under the sole source competitive bidding exception.
2. Award a purchase contract in the amount of $2,586,081 payable over five years at $515,213 during the first year and $517,717 per year for the remaining four years to TASER International, Inc., for the purchase and service of body-worn video cameras, CEWs, and unlimited video storage through TASER's Evidence.com storage service.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended City Council authorize the Chief of Police to specify TASER International, Inc., without substitution, for the purchase and rotating replacement of 400 TASER Axon flex body-worn video cameras and 400 Conducted Electrical Weapons under the sole source competitive bidding exception and award a purchase contract in the amount of $2,586,081 for the purchase and service of body-worn video cameras, CEWs, and unlimited video storage through TASER's Evidence.com storage service.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
TASER International, Inc. ("TASER"), has patented a body-worn video camera technology system - AXON Flex, conducted electrical weapons ("CEWs"), and a secure patented cloud-based video storage component called Evidence.com. The AXON Flex camera's trademarked mounting capabilities provide unparalleled options for users to place a video camera on sunglasses, helmets, lapels, and uniform epaulettes to provide a relatively unobstructed point of view. The variety of mounting options and video storage is not available from other manufacturers. TASER has emerged as the leader in body-worn video technology. In addition TASER has agreed to replace the Department's aging CEWs with new units. TASER CEW's employ a unique propellant system distinguishing the CEWs from a firearm; this is an important factor when determining level of force. TASER CEW's also use a reloadable system with serialized, confetti like "afids" for evidence control and record specialized information such as the date, time, and duration of each trigger pull.
BACKGROUND
Video technology is being utilized by law enforcement agencies at an increasing pace. The first large scale introduction of video technology for police officers was limited to "in-car" video camera systems. However, "in-car" video systems were limited to video footage captured from the front facing perspective of the vehicle. Personal body-worn cameras were eventually introduced as a more realistic tool to capture the true "point of view" of a police officer. In an era of increased public scrutiny and litigation, body-worn camera systems provide video evidence to capture critical incidents in a manner much closer to the officer's perspective. Video gathered has proven to be invaluable during investigations of complaints against police officers.
TASER has patented a body-worn video camera technology system - AXON Flex, and a secure patented cloud based video storage component called "Evidence.com." TASER's trademarked mounting capabilities provide unparalleled options for users to place a video camera on sunglasses, helmets, lapels, and uniform epaulettes to provide relatively unobstructed point of view. The variety of mounting options and field of view of the camera is not available from other manufacturers.
The extended battery life provides approximately 12 hours of video camera operation to accommodate an officer's entire work shift. The battery pack has LED lights to show the battery level remaining and operating mode of the unit. The video camera system has a "Bluetooth" pairing component to allow video playback on a mobile device, yet the camera has an internal security system which prevents users from altering or deleting video footage.
The video camera system includes the evidence transfer system which downloads all of the video footage at the completion of a work shift into a secured cloud based server while also fully charging the battery. The evidence server is a hosted management system which enables police departments to seamlessly manage and share digital evidence. The management system allows an agency to establish password encrypted access levels for line, supervisors, and managers. The system has a feature for the Chief of Police to designate one department member to have specialized access, which is the highest authorization level. Another access feature allows assisting agencies such as district attorneys, or federal prosecutors to have "read only" password encrypted access to digital evidence for prosecution.
This contract also addresses the departments aging Tasers, which are in need of replacement. The Police Department has used TASER CEWs for approximately 15 years. Officers are trained in TASER CEW deployment such that officer and public safety are maximized. In addition, because the Department's officers are thoroughly trained in deploying TASER CEWs, moving to another system, even if there were a comparable model, would require extensive time and training investments. TASER manufactures the industry standard CEW, with no comparable units available. TASER CEW's employ a unique propellant system, distinguishing the CEWs from a firearm. This is an important factor when determining level of force. TASER CEW's also use a reloadable system with serialized, confetti like "afids" for evidence control. TASER CEW's record specialized information such as the date, time, and duration of each trigger pull. This information has proven helpful to the city when addressing lawsuits or complaints regarding excessive use of force.
The purchase contract will cover the entire cost of the Tasers, cameras, mounting options, data storage, evidence.com docking and charging terminals, the annual licensing fees, a one-year factory warranty and additional two-year extended warranty. The warranties will fully cover the cameras and Tasers for a total of five years. While under contract, cameras will be replaced every 2.5 years, and Tasers will be replaced once every 5 years.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Environmental findings are not applicable since the agreement is not a project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
This contract would be awarded as a sole source, meaning local preference would not apply since there is a single provider of the specified equipment.
FISCAL IMPACT
In FY 2015, the Department purchased 100 body-worn cameras from Taser, International for $163,500. This updated and revised contract totals $2,586,081 to purchase an additional 300 body-worn cameras and 400 Conducted Electrical Weapons (CEW's) beginning in 2015, and is payable over five years. The first year payment in 2015 will total $515,213 and the subsequent four payments will be $517,717 from 2016 through 2019. Funding will be from a combination of sources as shown below.
|
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Total |
Private donation |
100,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
500,000 |
SLESA- Camera |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
325,000 |
SLESA- Taser |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
325,000 |
BSCC |
85,213 |
87,717 |
87,717 |
87,717 |
87,717 |
436,081 |
General Fund |
200,000 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
1,000,000 |
Total funding |
$515,213 |
$517,717 |
$517,717 |
$517,717 |
$517,717 |
$2,586,081 |
The Department received $500,000 from an anonymous private donor, and we plan to use $100,000 per year from this source. The Department will also use $130,000 of Supplemental Law Enforcement Services (SLESA) grant funds that were previously set aside for annual body camera video storage costs and Taser CEW's, and will be used to partially fund this contract. Additionally, the Department has set aside $85,213 of Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) grant funds for the first year and $87,717 in the remaining four years. The remaining $200,000 per year will be from the Department's General Fund budget. In Fiscal Year 2015 the Department will utilize $200,000 of General Fund salary savings from attrition, and starting in FY 16, we request a $200,000 annual budget increase for this contract through 2019.
Attachments:
Resolution
Agreement
Sole Source Memorandum