Owasso council approves $58,700 contract for police use-of-force simulator

The Owasso City Council voted to award a contract to TI Training Systems of Golden, Colorado, for a use-of-force simulator and an accompanying gunshot-sound system (alternate 1) in the amount of $58,700, staff said at the council meeting.

City staff told the council that four vendors submitted bids after a solicitation issued Jan. 7, 2025. The bids listed in the staff report were: “Vertra Vertral” at $122,419; Milo Range Systems at $71,835; TI Training at $55,360; and Laser Ammo at $17,227. After testing and site visits to agencies that use the systems, staff recommended TI Training as “the lowest cost system that meets all of our bid specifications,” and recommended awarding the base system plus alternate 1 for a total award of $58,700, Jason Woodley, police department staff, said.

The staff presentation described the system as a branching, computerized simulator with scenario libraries and instructor-controlled branching to increase realism. Woodley said the system includes hardware, software, training, computerized scenario files and licenses, and noted the department’s prior entry-level simulator lacks the branching capability. “The instructors can actually change those scenarios as the people are going through them on demand,” Woodley said, describing how a scenario can branch depending on officer or participant actions.

Woodley told council there is no recurring licensing fee: “It comes with, updates, yearly updates, every 6 months software updates... there’s no recurring cost to this. The only potential recurring cost we might have is if we wanna extend the warranty,” he said. He also noted the system’s playback feature for reviewing shot placement and reaction times.

Staff said they considered two alternates. Alternate 1, a “shot box” that reproduces gunfire sound and vibration to enhance realism, increased the training value and was recommended. Alternate 2, a projectile-return launcher intended to simulate incoming fire, was not recommended because instructors did not feel it added enough realism to justify its substantially higher cost.

Woodley told the council installation is specified to be completed within 45 days of delivery. Funding for the purchase is available in the police department’s FY2025 budget, Woodley said. He also identified Mike Marans as the department’s range master who assisted in evaluations.

A motion to approve the staff recommendation passed on a voice/roll-call vote. Roll call responses recorded in the transcript were all affirmative: Councilor Cody Walter, Councilor Paul Loving, Vice Mayor Lindell Dunn, Councilor Doug Bonebrake, Councilor Levings, and Councilor Prejets each answered “Yes.”

The council did not approve alternate 2; staff said they may consider system expansions such as additional projectors later but have no current plan to add the projectile launcher.

Votes at a glance

• Award contract to TI Training Systems (base system + alternate 1) — $58,700; funding: FY2025 police department budget; outcome: approved (unanimous recorded yes votes).