Emery County OKs five-year Axon contracts for squad and body cameras

Emery County commissioners voted April 15 to approve two five-year agreements with Axon Enterprise for in-car fleet cameras and body-worn cameras for the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff (Speaker 6) told the commission the county has not previously used body cameras and that the technology will streamline evidence handling and prosecution. "We're now how I understand it, Mike's office will be able to access them just from their desktops with the permission that's provided," the sheriff said, describing how case-based access will reduce hours spent manually downloading video for the county attorney.

The sheriff said the in-car (fleet) camera package will cost about $264,000 spread over five years and the body-worn camera contract is about $116,000 over five years; he added the county saved roughly $67,000 during procurement by initiating talks earlier. He described operational benefits including automatic activation tied to taser use and higher-resolution video: "It's like 4k. It's super nice stuff," he said.

Commission discussion touched on cost and the inevitability of body cameras as law enforcement moves toward broader adoption. After a motion and second, commissioners voted to accept the quotes and standard terms from Axon; the motions carried on unanimous voice votes as recorded by the chair.

What happens next: county staff will finalize contracts and implement the Axon systems for fleet and body cameras under the five-year service schedules approved by the commission. The sheriff said the systems would reduce the time deputies and staff spend processing evidence and would allow limited, case-based access by the county attorney's office.

Provenance: Commission discussion and vote on fleet camera quote (item 8) and body-worn cameras (item 9).