Kent Police add latest Taser model to officers’ equipment

The latest technology advances continue to play an even bigger role for the Kent Police Department, including a new Taser 10 gun considered to be more effective than the older Taser 7 model.

Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla told the Kent City Council about the new gun during his April 15 Public Safety report.

“It has a 10 shot capacity versus the two we currently have,” Padilla said. “It has the ability to get through thick coats and heavy clothing. That’s been our biggest failure rate, shots will bounce off of clothing. And it can travel further (45 feet versus 25 feet).”

Padilla said the new model has enhanced data analytics about when a shot occurred and whether it was effective. It also has a warning device.

“So when a Taser is activated it comes with a high pitch warning noise that let’s everyone know a Taser is about to be administrated,” Padilla said.

Taser 10 features a 1,000-volt probe that can knock a person to the ground. An officer can fire just one of the 10 probes at a time. With the Taser 7, two probes were fired with each shot.

“Bottom line, when officers have less lethal tools that are effective they don’t have to escalate to lethal tools,” Padilla said. “The data is very clear that the overwhelming outcome is the person is taken into custody without injuries.”

Padilla appreciates the advancements.

“We look at ways to reduce an unfortunate outcome when officers have to use deadly force,” Padilla said. “The more we can prevent that the better. It is a more effective weapon and we have better outcomes.”

The upgraded Taser is part of a five-year contract the city of Kent has with Scottsdale, Arizona-based Axon Enterprise. The company included Taser upgrades when the city bought body-worn cameras for officers. Axon also supplies Kent with in-car dash cameras, a records management system and the associated software.

Axon described the new Taser 10 on its website.

“The first trigger pull discharges a single probe without electrical output and the second trigger pull discharges a second probe to create neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI),” according to Axon. “The device provides additional opportunities to obtain effective NMI, with the subsequent trigger pulls if the previous probes did not have proper attainment.”

Axon released the Taser 10 in 2023, according to a company press release. Axon referred to it as a new era of less-lethal technology and part of its “moonshot goal to cut gun-related deaths between police and the public by 50% in 10 years.”

Axon has Taser contracts with more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries, according to its website.

The initial Axon contract with the city of Kent in 2019 was for five years at a total of $1.6 million for 105 body-worn cameras. With the addition of more body-worn cameras for the 170-member force and other changes and purchases, the contract has been amended five times, and extended to Sept. 30, 2029 at a cost of $9.7 million for five years, according to city documents.

The city covers much of the costs with monies from its red-light camera fund.

Dash cameras

Padilla also told the council during his report that dash cameras have been added to police vehicles, a budget recommendation in 2023-2024 by Mayor Dana Ralph. Ralph initiated the body-worn camera program after a 2017 campaign promise.

As with the upgraded Taser 10, Padilla said the dash cameras are another new public safety tool.

In addition to the dash camera, a second camera faces the rear passenger seats to record what happens when suspects are transported to jail.

“They are high-end cameras with sharp imaging and infrared capabilities,” Padilla said about the Axon product.

The cameras also are equipped with automatic license plate readers, similar to the 20 Flock cameras the police department has mounted at intersections across town. If a stolen car or a vehicle associated with a crime from a national data base is captured by the camera, the officer receives an alert about the nearby vehicle.

“It’s a significant step forward to reduce crime,” said Padilla, who added the cameras can help locate missing people and find homicide suspects. “The more captured video, the more evidence of what happened.”

Padilla said dash cameras will help with the transparency of the department by providing the driver’s view, which is a different perspective. He said the information will be helpful in pursuits and traffic stops in addition to body-worn cameras.

“It’s another step in improving officer safety,” Padilla said. “And we can livestream if we need to. It’s a really good advancement for our department and the community.”

More technology

The city council added about $686,000 to the five-year contract in 2024 with Axon for several other new products from the company.

• Axon Investigate Pro: A software program that allows detectives to review footage from almost any proprietary video and then allows for the video to be changed to an AVI or MP4 format, according to city documents. The software allows for videos to be played side by side, has an enhancement tool to provide clarity in videos, allows for generation of reports with embedded video clips, and allows text to be added to videos. All detectives will have the ability to use the program.

• Axon Air: A program that allows for real time viewing when drones are deployed, according to city documents. This will help with situational awareness for in-progress calls, allowing officers to back away and give more distance (de-escalation) when needed, and will assist the traffic team in its investigations. Axon Air allows for all drone footage to be sent directly to Evidence.com, eliminating a step that officers currently perform to save drone footage into Evidence.com.

• Draft One: A program that uses the audio recording of the interaction between all parties from the body- worn camera footage and develops a narrative for a case report, according to city documents. It is a draft narrative that must be added on to and approved by the officer.

Interview rooms

The amended 2024 contract with Axon also includes the necessary hardware, software, and installation fees for two additional interview rooms for officers and detectives. One interview room will be in the detective area, and the other will be in the holding cells at the police station. This will allow officers to capture video of anyone detained in the holding cell and conduct interviews while the subject is in the holding cell, without delay.