Portland Police Propose Spending $3.4 Million for Upgraded Tasers

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office is asking the City Council to approve an estimated $3.4 million contract to upgrade cops’ Tasers.

The current model, the X2, has been discontinued, the bureau says. Plus, the X2 isn’t compatible with the bureau’s new body-worn cameras. “The X2 does not support the ability to record video once the Taser is deployed,” the office said in the request published on next week’s City Council agenda. The body-worn cameras will automatically begin recording when an officer draws a weapon, per the bureau’s new body-worn camera policy announced earlier this year.

The bureau plans to upgrade to the Model 7, which, like the X2 and the body-worn cameras, is manufactured by Axon. The Model 7 is the oldest technology compatible with the cameras, according to the request. The LAPD, which previously used the Model 7, is already testing the Model 10.

This is the second multimillion-dollar Axon purchase to come before the City Council in the past week. The council approved a contract with Axon worth up to $2.6 million to purchase the body-worn cameras Nov. 29. The cost to upgrade the Tasers will be $3.4 million over five years, and the first year of funding will come out of the bureau’s existing budget.

Tasers are one of the bureau’s “less-lethal options for persuasion,” according to the council request. The Model 7 stun gun has a range of 25 feet and holds two cartridges.

The U.S. Department of Justice has previously criticized the bureau for excessive use of Tasers against people with mental illness. A shot from the weapon can sometimes be deadly, and police trainers have expressed concern that Tasers are used effectively only half the time.