Weiser Police Department will equip officers with new Tasers

The Weiser Police Department will buy 12 Tasers to equip each officer and replace equipment that is more than a decade old.

 Police Chief Carl Smith brought the request to purchase the Tasers to the city council seeking approval to enter into a five-year purchase agreement with the manufacturer. 

 Smith said when he put together the department’s fiscal year 2019 budget, the plan was to purchase two Tasers and he budgeted $4,000. Currently, there are three officers who do not have Tasers, and he was looking for a way to buy the equipment.

 Smith told the council members that he has since received a quote from the leading Taser manufacturer, Axon Enterprises, that will allow all 12 officers to received a new Taser and the ancillary equipment on a purchase arrangment.

 “They came up with a solution that they offer to a lot of departments,” he said.

 The manufacturer will provide the Tasers and equipment and allow the department to pay the bill in annual installments over five years. The first of five  payments will total $4,296 and the following four annual payments would total $5,496 each.

 The total cost for the Tasers will come to about $26,200, and WPD will own the Taser and the equipment after five years of payments. The purchase plan charges no interest or finance costs, the chief said, and the Tasers have an unlimited warranty for five years.

 “I saw this as a viable option to keep my fellow officers in brand new Tasers for the next five years,” he said.

 Smith said he has the first installment payment in his budget. The purchase price also includes the batteries, holsters and other equipment. WPD will receive 36 training cartridges for the Tasers annually that cost about $30 each. 

 The department also will receive a simulation suit that will provide a more realistic target for officer training. Each WPD officer must train at least once per year and use the Taser to be certified.

 Smith said the number of times a Taser is used in the field by officers is probably two to three annually as a department total. 

 The WPD can opt out of the contract with no penalties. The department would have to give back the equipment. The department will get credit from the Taser manufacturer for the older Tasers that WPD currently owns.

 The company that manufactures the Tasers also makes the body cameras that WPD officers also wear. The company offers two models of Tasers for law enforcement. One is a two-shot model with dual lasers that eliminate aiming guesswork and features a “warning arc to increase voluntary surrenders and helps stop conflicts from escalating” and the other is a single shot.

 The manufacturer cites numerous reports on its website stating that Tasers are safe and effective and reduce injuries to officers and suspects.  

 The agreement to purchase the Tasers on a multi-year purchase plan is contingent on the city’s legal counsel reviewing the contract. He had not seen the contract prior to the city council meeting and could not give legal opinon.