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Prosecutor warns Axon evidence fees could force $750,000 upgrade to maintain discovery access
Summary
Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth told supervisors that Axon’s integrated evidence platform and the police department’s contract leave prosecutors with limited 'free' access; she said Axon sought over $1 million but negotiated to about $750,000 to grant prosecutors Justice-tier access for non-body-worn camera evidence.
Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth told the Board that the Axon evidence-management system used by the police holds most digital material prosecutors need and that the office's existing 'free' prosecutor accounts cover body-worn camera footage only. "As part of that contract, that million, multimillion dollar contract with the police department, Axon provides us, the prosecutors, with what they call free accounts... But that free account only covers body worn camera footage," she said.
Ashworth said Axon had pushed for the Commonwealth Attorney's Office to sign a separate contract to obtain Justice-tier access for prosecutors’ review of non-body-worn evidence, including surveillance video and phone extractions. She said the vendor originally sought upward of $1 million and the figure had been negotiated down to about $750,000, spread over five years. Supervisors asked whether alternatives or in-house solutions could replace Axon; Ashworth and other staff responded that using multiple systems previously caused evidence-location problems and risked late discovery that can lead to dismissed cases.
