Denver’s City Council voted Monday evening 11-2 to adopt a new contract expansion worth more than $16 million for purchasing Tasers, body-worn cameras and related technology, after postponing the vote from last week’s meeting.

The vote adopted Resolution 20-1356, which extends a contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. – formerly called Taser International Inc. – through Dec. 15, 2025, and increases the amount from $15,996,615.10 to $22,097,650.10. The contract’s purchases will include body-worn cameras, related equipment, software, data storage and Tasers for the Denver Police and Denver Sheriff Departments.

In response to a question from Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said he didn’t have the exact number of new body cameras that will be purchased under the contract. However, Deputy Director of Safety Laura Wachter said in the meeting that the contract would allow 1,000 Tasers to be replaced in 2021.

New technology purchased under the contract will include sensors that automatically activate a body-worn camera if an officer draws their gun or Taser. Pazen called the technology a “fail-safe” measure in case an officer has not already activated their camera in an encounter.

Colorado’s policing reform law enacted in June, Senate Bill 217, requires most officers to activate their body-worn cameras during interactions with the public or while responding to service calls. The mandate includes a few exceptions, such as to avoid recording information not related to a case or if an officer is working undercover.

Denver City Council delays vote on body camera contract expansion

Councilmembers CdeBaca and Chris Hinds cast the two votes against approving the contract.

CdeBaca said at the outset of the discussion she had received messages asking for a delay of the council’s vote until after the release of a report from the Office of the Independent Monitor on Denver police’s response to the spring and summer’s protests, which will happen Tuesday. She added she also received messages requesting the contract’s provisions for purchasing Tasers and body camera technology be split into separate contracts.

Councilman Kevin Flynn said he believes technology that will automatically activate a body-worn camera when a Taser or firearm is drawn from its holster makes it infeasible to split up agreements for Tasers and body-worn cameras into separate contracts.

“Because of this interaction, I would suggest that that would not be a very good thing to do, even if it were possible, because we want that functionality,” he said.

Pazen said the lion’s share of the contract’s cost for body-worn cameras is for data storage and management service. He said not approving the new contract would mean there would not be a way to access footage captured by the cameras.

“It is similar to purchasing a phone,” he said. “So if you purchase a phone, it doesn’t mean that you get to make phone calls or stream video or send text messages. You need that service plan, that data agreement. So much of the cost associated with this is associated to that data agreement, and the upgrade is just part of part and parcel of the contract itself.”

In a text message to the Denver Gazette about her dissenting vote, CdeBaca said, “The Chief of Police could not itemize the amount of cameras being purchased, the amount of tasers being purchased nor the specifics of terms of storage on the data platform. Mixing a weapons purchase with an accountability mechanism purchase regardless because the purchase is a ‘package’ without being able to articulate why the package is a deal or what is in the package for 16mil is absurd.

“This mixed contract is intentionally convoluted to defy the community calls to de-militarize their communities and confuse people into voting for more accountability while simultaneously purchasing more weapons, weapons we already have.”

Hinds’ questions about the contract expansion ranged from asking about using a locally-based vendor for providing body-worn camera technology to asking about the purpose of training using virtual-reality headsets included in the contract. Pazen said that technology upgrade will allow simulations of officer encounters to practice de-escalating situations.

Hinds didn’t state a particular reason in Monday’s discussion for his dissenting vote. Council President Stacie Gilmore indicated Hinds intended to ask more questions about the contract, but he did not after Gilmore said, “We’re doubling back and we belabored this quite a bit last week, and so hope you’ve got a quick question here and we can go ahead and vote on this.”

Hinds couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on his “no” vote.