Commission to Hear Update on Potential Technology Purchases by Police Department

The City’s Police Oversight Commission will receive an update from the Pasadena Police Department on potential new technology purchases and related policies, including Axon products and helicopter searchlights.

No staff report was included in the agenda on the item. According to a City staffer contacted by Pasadena Now on Wednesday, no staff report or documentation on the item had ye been sent to the majority of the commission.

Any high-priced item would go before the City Council for approval.

Although it is not known what potential purchases will be presented to the commission, no staff report was included in the agenda, the department already uses several Axon Enterprises products, including body-worn cameras and tasers.

In 2021, the City Council passed an amendment to its police body-worn camera contract with Axon, and directed staff to also consider a trial period of new body-worn camera technology.

The extension included upgrades to the latest Axon cameras and docking stations; an additional upgrade to the latest cameras in two-and-a-half years; a complete five-year warranty for service and replacement; and 10GB of additional storage on Evidence.com per camera for digital media that is not produced by an Axon device.

The contract amendment did not include accessories that allow Axon body-worn cameras to automatically activate when a firearm is removed from its holster, which ensures the body-worn camera is running during a critical incident.

The accessory would have cost an additional $62,000.

However, the department later tested the accessory on a trial basis.

Activist groups, including the ACLU, have decried the use of technology in policing, including automatic license plate readers and helicopter cameras.

The use of technology continues to expand in policing. The department currently uses a ShotSpotter system to triangulate gunshots and increase response times to shootings, automatic license plate readers, and body-worn cameras.

Last month, the City Council authorized a $563,357 contract with Rotorcraft Support to purchase a Wescam MX-10 camera and install it on a police helicopter.

The department recently began using cell site simulator technology.

But there is oversight on departmental purchases and equipment.

Every year, the department must present a military equipment report to the City Council and ask for authorization to continue using each item in the inventory.

Other laws have been passed to guarantee transparency on body-worn camera footage.

Footage of critical incidents must be released within 45 days according to state law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2018.

The Pasadena Police Department initiated a body-worn camera program in 2016.

The department has uploaded over one million evidentiary items, including videos, voice recordings, and documents, to Axon Enterprise’s secure, cloud-based digital evidence management system platform called Evidence.com, according to a city staff report.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday.