More than 100 cameras are expected to be installed across Rialto’s intersections following the City Council’s July 28 approval of a $1.25 million amendment to the police department’s existing Axon contract. The amendment adds body-worn and patrol vehicle cameras and over 100 hardware devices to integrate publicly and privately owned security systems with the department’s “real-time intelligence network,” allowing officers access to participating camera feeds.
Connect Rialto, a voluntary program that allows residents and businesses to share private security camera feeds with police through Fusus — Axon’s cloud-based real-time public safety and intelligence platform — drew late-night media mockery from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. However, while Oliver’s satirical segment claimed that Rialto mandates Fusus integration for new businesses, city officials said the program has always been opt-in. Even so, the city is in the process of clarifying its language.
Last November, the council approved a nine-year $14 million contract with Axon Enterprise Inc., formerly TASER International, for the Officer Safety Plan 10 (OSP 10). That initial contract included AI-assisted upgrades, including the Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) program through Axon Air, license plate readers, body-worn and in-car cameras, video analysis and digital evidence tools…