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include a redaction assistant which will save the PPD time before releasing electronic information and a process to allow citizens to directly upload evidence from home security systems and other devices. Captain Cox recommends the City Council approve the five-year contract with AXON, authorize the City Manager to approve and execute amendments to address future agency needs and accept the report on taser and body camera policies. Councilmember Testa expressed her support for body cameras and expressed concerns about tasers. In response to Councilmember Brown's inquiries, Captain Cox explained that the rise in taser use in 2018 relative to other years stemmed from different instances and not a single larger than usual incident. Captain Cox reported each instance was said to be within policy and the year was an anomaly. He further explained officers are aware that any deployment of a taser will result in an administrative review of the taser's usage. He clarified the nuances between activation and deployment with the former also including the potential of taser use as a threat in hopes the suspect will not resist arrest. He advised a taser deployment lasts five seconds by default but an officer can deactivate it sooner. He expressed the eagerness of officers to wear the new cameras and noted the improved cameras are particularly viewed as a safety feature for themselves because of the GPS tracking and remote viewing opportunity. Lastly, he explained the equipment would be returned to AXON and replaced with the new equipment since the technology is outdated and there is no potential resale value. Mayor Thorne joined the meeting at 7:51 p.m. In response to Councilmember Pentin's inquiries, Captain Cox clarified it is recommended officers experience the use of a taser, but it is voluntary. He reported multiple officers volunteer as taser subjects during a training day to gain first-hand knowledge of the experience for a suspect and likely every PPD officer has at least seen a peer experience the effects and aftermath. He clarified that once a weapon or taser is drawn automatically activating the new body camera, the officer cannot turn it off without manual intervention. He also noted it is unlikely a body camera could be turned off accidentally during a close-contact situation with a suspect because it can only be turned off by holding a button or swiping a switch which does not protrude from the unit but acknowledged the cameras, which are mounted magnetically, have occasionally been knocked off during a close struggle. He clarified that the four taser activations in 2019 would have been either an officer removing them from the holster as a deterrent or a spark use and stressed the importance of capturing those instances to show how often the subject complies after a taser is used as a deterrent. He clarified that a spark use does not count as a discharge in their usage statistics but rather as activation and noted the device must be deployed for the incident to be counted as such. He explained the new TASER 7 remains loaded even during the spark test which is an advantage over their current tasers which must be reloaded between a spark test and deployment. He explained that the jump in electronic evidence storage from 2019 to 2020 is due to more community members have been willing to share their data. He explained PPD will not need to create a new electronic evidence handling position because AXON does most of the work. Lastly, he explained taser usage is tracked by the individual officer and could contribute to an early warning of an officer not doing their job correctly if there are frequent deployments. In response to Councilmember Narum's inquiry, Captain Cox explained an officer could be forced to use a tactic causing more injury to a suspect if tasers were not an available conflict resolution option. Additionally, he explained it could also cause more injuries to officers without the option of a taser to subdue a suspect by prolonging an altercation. He clarified officers can control a situation two-thirds of the time simply by activating their taser and not actually discharging them and often serves the goal of gaining suspect cooperation without the use of force. In response to Mayor Thorne's inquiry. Captain Cox explains two probes are discharged from each cartridge. He further explained that if more than one taser connects with a suspect, the smart City Council Minutes Page 5 of 8 October 6. 2020