Council approves contract renewal for state-of-the-art Tasers for Birmingham Police Department

On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council approved a three-year agreement between the City and Axon Enterprise Inc. to purchase a new generation of Taser 7 devices for law enforcement.

This smart device will activate body cameras whenever it is deployed and is widely regarded as the industry’s best de-escalation tool.

Here is a copy of the item as it appeared on the agenda:

“These Tasers are just one element that we use for officer safety,” Birmingham Police Sgt. Otis Luke said during last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting. “Tasers typically have a five-year shelf life so periodically we have to replace our inventory and this is a renewal of our current contract with the company… Through this contract our officers will receive additional training about how to engage with individuals who could be dealing with mental health issues.”

The contract includes unlimited cartridge renewals for no additional costs. Maintenance and officer training is also included in the contract.

Councilor Hunter Williams, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said that making sure Birmingham Police officers have all the tools they need to keep citizens safe is one of his biggest priorities.

“Not only will this contract allow all our officers to have this new equipment, but it also allows for more metrics, such as how they are deployed, when they’re deployed and give the department a lot of analytical data to look at for Taser usage,” Williams said. “When the Taser is unholstered, the officer’s body camera is automatically activated, if it was not already, so we can have full transparency and accountability about how these devices are being used.”

According to Axon, roughly 200,000 lives have been saved by Taser usage worldwide. One of the biggest differences in the new technology is the increased size of the probe and the adaptive cross-connecting spreads (sensors will determine best placement) that are accurate up to 22 feet away. This will help increase accuracy and reduce the amount of ineffective spreads, most of which are a result of clothing getting in the way.

Williams said it’s vital that Birmingham continues moving toward a more “data-driven approach” to policing. This new equipment checks those boxes, he said. “We want to make sure our officers are using crime data to help better determine where and when to deploy resources. These Tasers are a big piece of that. By looking at this data on the back end, we can see how we can improve our practices.

“If we’re asking our officers to be on the frontlines in our effort to reduce crime, then we need to back them up by supporting them with the best equipment available for them to do their job.”