Fort Pierce approves $10 million contract for police body cameras and AI tools
FORT PIERCE, Fla. —
The Fort Pierce city commission approved a contract with a body-worn camera manufacturer to provide equipment for its police department.
During a meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, commissioners voted unanimously 5-0 to approve a contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for body-worn cameras and other technology provided by the company.
Fort Pierce Police Department Chief David M. Smith said prior to the commissioners’ vote on Monday that the package with Axon Enterprise was the company’s “top tier” offering that included Tasers, also known as stun guns, artificial intelligence technology tools, along with body cameras that translate languages immediately for officers.
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The officer would then speak in their language, and the body camera will relay the officers’ message to the subject in their language.
“It will absolutely be a force multiplier for us,” Smith said.
The Axon technology will also help officers with redaction of police reports. Redactions are used to prevent personal information, like Social Security numbers, from being made public.
The contract is for five years with an optional automatic renewal for another five years.
The 10-year contract will cost Fort Pierce $10,139,037.87.
The first five years, the city will make annual payments of $999,000.
If the option is picked up for the final five years of the contract, the city will pay Axon Enterprise $1,028,807.57 annually.
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In the commission agenda, it was noted that the current Axon body cameras owned by the police department were at the end of their life and needed to be replaced.
Axon Enterprise, Inc. is in Scottsdale, Arizona.