Residents urge pause on expanded Axon services over AI and privacy concerns

Amy Camp, a San Marcos resident, used the public-comment period to urge the court "not to enter into a contract ... with Axon for further products and services," arguing the company's AI tools risk introducing errors and bias into police reports.

Sheriff Anthony Hippolito and Chief Deputy Brett Bailey responded in the meeting's discussion, with Bailey saying the department has tested Axon and "we are not intending to implement Draft 1 at this time." Bailey emphasized that any AI-related feature would be held off and that deputies would be required to review and correct any machine-generated content before it could be exported.

Sam Benavides and other community speakers echoed concerns about mass surveillance and community trust, urging additional study and public feedback before the county expands contracts. Benavides said the discussion "deserves more consideration and community feedback." The court directed staff to add an agenda item for a formal policy statement on AI and surveillance at the next meeting.

County staff clarified that the materials presented so far were quotes and pricing summaries from Axon rather than a full contract; Purchasing Agent Stephanie Hunt said she had not received an official contract containing standard terms and conditions. Chief Bailey offered to bring a court agenda item stating the sheriff's office will not "flip the switch" on AI features until the court grants approval and the DA's office signs off.

Why this matters: Commissioners must balance operational benefits (faster report drafting, improved bilingual tools) against community privacy concerns, potential forensic/auditability issues with generative AI and the risk of unvetted features being added to ongoing agreements.