Prairie Village police officers may soon get new body cameras, in-car cameras, tasers and more.
The Prairie Village City Council during its council committee of the whole session on Monday voted 10-0 to refer a $3.6 million, 10-year contract with Axon for police equipment to the full city council for consideration. Councilmembers Dave Robinson and Ian Graves were absent from Monday’s meeting.
This comes a month after the Merriam City Council approved a $340,000 purchase for only new body cameras and fleet cameras from the same Arizona-based camera and taser company.
The Prairie Village City Council will consider approving the 10-year contract, to be paid for in equal annual payments of $362,000, at a future meeting.
A look at the equipment included in the contract
Police Maj. Eric McCullough told the city council on Monday that the $3.6 million contract is for the following equipment:
- Body cameras (and associated docking stations) for all officers
- In-car cameras, including a dual-view camera for the front of the vehicle, an interior camera, a dashboard app and two antennas
- Point-of-view cameras that are similar to sunglasses with a camera attached (for certain officers whose additional gear may get in the way of traditional body cameras)
- Tasers, including a rechargeable battery, holster and training for each officer
- Virtual reality training, including virtual reality headsets for simulation or community engagement training as well as a virtual reality taser
There is also “technical assurance” built into the contract that acts as a “perpetual warranty,” McCullough said. Any piece of equipment that is no longer working for whatever reason will be replaced, he said.
“That is one of the things we hear about Axon, they don’t just drop it and leave it,” McCullough said. “They make sure you get everything up and running, that it’s used the way it’s supposed to be used, that you’re getting those productivity savings and the time savings from it.”
The “technical assurance” also means that Axon will upgrade Prairie Village’s equipment at varying points throughout the 10-year contract, McCullough said.
Cameras will turn on when officers draw weapons
McCullough said the contract with Axon features various software programs that can help police officers solve crime and ensure events are properly reported to superiors.
Examples of the software upgrades include:
- A signal sidearm attached to each police officer’s firearm, that triggers all cameras to turn on when the firearm is drawn out of their holster. The signal sidearm also alerts superiors that an officer pulled out their firearm.
- My90, a program that provides an interactive, public dashboard with statistics about the police department that are gathered from feedback shared by people who interact with police officers.
- Axon Respond, a software that puts GPS in each body camera for dispatch to track in real time and that also allows body camera footage to be livestreamed by others in the department.
- Fusus, a “real-time crime center” that McCullough said can search for suspects in vehicles or start building cases for police officers by compiling digital evidence.
- There is also unlimited storage for digital evidence offered through the contract, McCullough said.
- Oversight-related software like Axon Performance that can flag body camera footage for review based on department-set triggers such as hate speech.
- Axon Standards, which is a reporting system for use-of-force, vehicle pursuits and an “early warning” system that is important for officer wellness, McCullough said.
The cost ‘is significant’
- McCullough said the cost “is significant,” but the city already set aside enough money in the 2025 budget for the first payment to Axon.
- The police department is in the habit of budgeting $150,000 a year for equipment reserve, and Mission Hills is likely to pay nearly $30,000 for their portion of equipment, McCullough said.
- This means the city needs to budget for an increase of $183,000 annually for the 2026 budget and future budgets, he said.
- Still, McCullough said the Axon contract will provide the police department with “fiscal predictability” and replaces some current programming the department uses.
Councilmembers weigh in
Councilmember Nick Reddell asked if the police department is comfortable with a 10-year contract and Axon’s ability to remain in business that long.
McCullough said given Axon’s reputation and size, he doesn’t “think there’s any question they’re going to be here in 10 years.”
Councilmember Terrence Gallagher said he likes the “human dignity” piece of Axon’s technology that allows police officers to communicate with people through the body cameras when there is a language barrier.
That specific technology is unavailable right now but is in the works and would be covered under the contracts “technical assurance,” McCullough said.
Councilmember Greg Shelton said the cost of the contract breaks down to around $300 per pay period per sworn officer. There are currently 44 sworn officers, McCullough said.
Shelton said that $300 per pay period per sworn officer is much more acceptable to him, and that he supports the contract. (Shelton is the husband of Post publisher Jay Senter’s sister.)
Next steps:
- The city council will consider the $3.6 million contract at a future city council meeting.
- City council meetings are held on the first and third Monday of each month starting at 6 p.m. at city hall, 7700 Mission Road.
Go deeper: Hear more about the Axon contract the city council is considering at a future meeting online here, starting at 2:23:36.
