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Tumwater approves plan to implement Axon body‑worn, in‑car cameras after staff briefings
Summary
City staff presented a phased rollout of Axon body‑worn and in‑car cameras, including a November pilot, staffing additions, a records redaction workflow and vendor‑managed updates; council discussed data storage, policy and mutual‑aid implications but did not take further action at the meeting.
Deputy Chief Keelas briefed the Tumwater City Council on the department’s plan to implement body‑worn cameras and replace in‑car video systems with an Axon‑based solution, saying the city has tentative budget approval and is in the contract review phase.
Keelas told council the project has added staff to handle the expected increase in video and evidence processing and that the department procured two field body‑worn cameras to begin testing in November. “We have tentative budget approval,” he said, and described a timeline that moves from legal review and procurement to installation and training once agreements are finalized.
Why it matters: staff said aligning equipment with neighboring jurisdictions (Lacey, Olympia and Thurston County) was a priority so agencies can share evidence efficiently. Keelas said Axon is on the state contract and that joint use with prosecutors and neighboring agencies reduced compatibility problems.
Implementation and features: the department described a proposed equipment package of about 48 body‑worn devices and 29 in‑car cameras, a vendor redaction assistant to speed public‑disclosure redaction, and translation tools. Keelas said the redaction assistant can dramatically reduce staff time and that Axon offers a community evidence intake tool so residents can submit video or photos directly into the evidence system.
On data control and access: council members asked whether video would be stored locally or in the cloud. Keelas responded, “The data is stored in the Axon cloud, which is secured, and it’s only accessed by us. Axon doesn’t share any data or any videos with any organizations or anyone else. It’s our data,” (Deputy Chief Keelas).
Policy and oversight: staff said a working policy is required by state law before testing and that a draft policy aligned with neighboring jurisdictions is under consideration. The department has begun impact bargaining with the police guild and expects bargaining to finish before an agreement is finalized. Council members requested a work session or public safety committee briefing closer to rollout to review activation rules and public reporting.
Next steps: staff said testing would continue in November, bargaining and contract finalization are expected through December, and installation and training would follow procurement (installation tentatively in early months after contract finalization). No formal council action was required at this meeting; council members signaled support but sought continued transparency on policy, redaction staffing and data sharing provisions.
