PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix will discuss approving a $22 million upgrade for Tasers at the Phoenix Police Department.
The Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee for the city is expected to recommend approving the money at a meeting Wednesday.
In a report to the subcommittee, the new tasers would have enhanced safety and technology features.
The report also said the new equipment would help Phoenix PD with its goal of giving officers less deadly resources.
The taser model the department currently has is called the TASER 7 and is created by Axon.
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The report says the model is reaching the end of its "useful life expectancy" later this month.
The upgraded model would be the similarly sized TASER 10, also by Axon.
It has a new warning alert that sounds as a deterrent before an officer deploys it.
The subcommittee is expected to recommend that Phoenix City Council approves a five-year, $22-million agreement with Axon for the new model.
This all comes after the Department of Justice's scathing 126-page report against Phoenix PD in June.
A section in that report specifically looks into taser use, calling Phoenix PD's use of tasers "unreasonable."
"PhxPD officers fire Tasers at people with little or no warning and when people pose no threat," part of the DOJ's report said. "Officers rarely attempt de-escalation before firing a Taser."
That's something Phoenix-based social justice nonprofit Poder in Action is focusing on this week as the subcommittee plans to meet.
The group spoke out ahead of the meeting, saying this is not where the city needs to be putting its money.
“Phoenix police have proven they are incapable of responsibly using the vast array of weapons they already have at their disposal," said Poder in Action Community Safety Strategist Isabel Garcia. "They should not be allowed to steal $22 million dollars from desperately needed community resources at a time when vital services are already being threatened by the budget deficit.”
If Axon sounds familiar, it's because ABC15 has recently reported on the company.
They want to build their headquarters complex in Scottsdale.
Scottsdale's city council recently voted to allow the project to move forward, but there is a group currently collecting signatures to try and give voters in the city a say in the development.
