Englewood approves $1.803 million contract for new police camera system; council seeks budget details and safeguards on AI features

The Englewood City Council approved a contract with Axon Enterprises to provide a new police camera platform for the Englewood Police Department, with a not-to-exceed amount reported as $1.803 million.

Chief of Police Dave Jackson told council the vendor landscape has changed and Axon now dominates a large share of the market; he described operational efficiencies the platform offers including integrated evidence upload and real-time language translation. Council members pressed staff on the contract cost (a member observed it was roughly three times the cost of the prior product), why the expenditure was placed in the capital improvements plan (CIP) rather than the department’s annual budget, and whether the city would need a budget supplemental for 2026. Staff said the first year of the five-year contract was included in the 2026 CIP budget but that after contract pricing changed post-budget approval, a $26,000 supplemental would be requested to cover the increase.

Members also raised questions about AI features bundled with the platform, including whether the system could auto-generate initial incident reports. Chief Jackson and deputies said AI-assisted report drafting is available but would include multiple officer checkpoints and supervisor approval; staff cited other Colorado agencies using the technology to reduce report-writing time and described built-in acceptance points where officers must confirm or edit AI-suggested entries.

With those clarifications noted and a request for additional finance detail, council voted to approve the Axon contract (vote recorded as 6 ayes). The council asked staff to return with firm budget supplemental language and any required implementation safeguards for AI-driven features.