Scottsdale firm has outfitted forest rangers with Tasers, body cameras
Oct 2, 2019, 11:20 AM
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX – Scottsdale-based tech company Axon and the U.S. Forest Service announced an agreement that will give rangers and agents body cameras to go along with the stun guns previously purchased.
The Forest Service was the first federal agency to sign on with the makers of Tasers and body cameras, whose main customers are police and sheriff’s departments across the country.
The deal includes a digital management system, Axon Evidence, and a battery that alerts cameras on the company’s network to begin recording when the weapon’s safety is set in the armed position.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Forest Service, the first federal agency to deploy Axon’s ecosystem of life-saving technologies across their law enforcement enterprise,” Axon executive Richard Coleman said in a statement Monday.
The Forest Service’s Law Enforcement and Investigations has deployed a smaller version of the stun gun police officers carry since 2018.
The cameras will go into use in phases.
The Phoenix City Council approved a contract with Axon for 2,000 of the wearable cameras for police officers in February
The rollout began in April continued into July.
About 300 officers had already wearing body cameras. They were replaced with the newer model.