Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a Saturday morning Facebook post that the county has voted to invest in new equipment for his department.
The county commission, he says, voted unanimously to secure a contract with a business called Axon that will cost $4.9 million over 10 years.
It wasn’t immediately clear from his post when that vote took place.
The contract includes 100 body cameras, 100 dash cameras, 100 Tasers and a digital evidence management system, according to his post.
Why make this investment?
Sanders said the department’s previous equipment did not work well, noting that cameras were failing to operate during calls and body camera batteries were dying less than halfway through an 11-hour shift.
Sanders added that the sheriff’s office had saved $1.4 million in an original camera replacement program to help offset the costs of the upgrade.
“Equipping our staff with the best equipment has been one of my top priorities, as it has a major impact on the outcome of both day to day operations and critical incidents,” Sanders said in his post. “Deputies need to know their equipment will function as expected, and our support staff need a competent system to ensure digital evidence is making its way through the system efficiently.”