The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a $150,000 contract with a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company to replace the New Canaan Police Department’s tasers.
The contract with Axon Technologies calls for 47 new tasers for use by the department’s patrol officers, according to Chief John DiFederico.
“ We put this off for a couple of years because we purchased the new firearms,” DiFederico told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.
He added: “The current tasers that we have reached end of life, are no longer supported by Axon, and this will equip all officers, all patrol officers with the new technology, the new version of the taser. It’s much more advanced, greater capabilities as far as distance. I suppose the old ones are 15 feet, these are 25 feet, so it’s a much safer distance. And this will equip all of our officers.”
The first year’s cost of $150,000 gets the new equipment, holsters and training, and there’s an annual $22,157 cost for each of the next four years that includes training to maintain the equipment’s warranty, DiFederico said.
First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted in favor of the contract.
The selectmen asked about a 48th taser that appears on the contract (it’s for training), whether each taser is assigned to an officer (yes, each has a unique identifier and creates an evidence trail of the number of times the trigger was pulled and how long it was pulled), whether the cost came in higher than budgeted (no) and whether the approximately $22,000 in maintenance cost was expected (yes, it’s up from about $18,000 currently).
The department’s existing tasers have aged out, with some going back to 2013.
“We’ve gotten as much use out of the old ones that we can,” DiFederico said. “We generally keep them in service about eight to 10 years. This will be the initial purchase, and then the next four years will be covered with equipment and warranty. So we should get five years out of these, and then we’ll see where we’re at. But then we’ll see if they continue to cover. They are another company that sunsets their equipment and then requires you to purchase new.”
Murphy Carroll asked whether it was “fair to assume that these are infrequently used” by NCPD.
DiFederico responded: “It is, but when we need them, they’re there.”