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Police chief asks commission to use carryover funds for Axon body cameras; in‑car citation software update discussed
Summary
The police chief requested permission to use last year’s Law Enforcement Protection Fund carryover to buy Axon body 4 cameras (about $89,174.98) and described operational limits with current cameras; the department also reported it is in the queue to receive Trax ticketing software.
Tucumcari’s police chief asked the commission for permission to use carryover from the Law Enforcement Protection Fund (LEPF) to purchase Axon body 4 cameras and vehicle docking stations so officers can record entire 12‑hour shifts and upload footage in real time.
The chief told commissioners the department’s current cameras “have reached a point in age where, the average time these cameras can run is 3 hours,” and that “at the beginning of the shift, the officer has to come to the station, pick up his body camera,” delaying response time. He requested $89,174.98 and said last fiscal year’s LEPF carryover is about $94,000 and this year’s allocation is $108,000; his preferred option was to pay for the equipment in full using the carryover.
The chief said the proposed purchase would equip every officer with an Axon Body 4, include a dock for every vehicle so cameras can charge and upload while in the field, and that the city’s current Axon cloud subscription will not increase with the new cameras. He described safety and supervisory benefits: supervisors can view live audio/video from vehicles and cameras can auto‑activate when tasers are powered, lights are turned on, or specific speed/threshold events occur. He also cited a recent delay in off‑duty officer response because officers first had to pick up cameras at the station.
Commissioners and staff discussed procurement, financing (purchase outright versus multi‑year payments), municipal league assistance with training and policy support, and the department’s desire to avoid long‑term amortized payments for equipment that ages quickly. The chief also described the Trax electronic citation software: Tucumcari has completed configuration and is in the queue for installation; the vendor processes requests in order received and the department is “in the queue.”
The transcript shows the chief’s request and subsequent discussion but does not record a final vote on using LEPF carryover in the excerpt provided.
