Aldermen will review new police body camera, taser and evidence storage contract bundle in July

MANCHESTER, N.H. – A discussion on new body camera, taser and digital evidence management system (DEMS) contracts for the Manchester Police Department will come before the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on July 11.

Last week at the BMA Committee on Public Safety, Health and Traffic Manchester Police Department Chief Allen Aldenberg expressed frustration with the city’s current contract for body cameras with Utility, a company that won the contract in 2019. A request for proposals to replace Utility was opened in December 2022 and drew six proposals by February 2023, with Aldenberg recommending Axon as the company to replace Utility.

The contract with Utility ends in December 2024 and cost the city $1 million, which was paid up front.

Aldenberg said the primary issue with Utility’s body cameras is the various mounts needed for the Samsung phones purchased by Utility for the contract. In contrast, Axon uses just one type of mount and manufactures its own cameras. The auto-tagging function related to Utility’s body cameras resulted in many videos being deleted earlier than they should have been, with the department needing to manually change these settings after Utility refused to do so, even though Aldenberg claimed that it was this task was required within Utility’s contact with the city. Aldenberg also told the committee that it attempted to overcharge the city for its services at one point.

“Our city, particularly of late, it’s been no secret, asks much of its officers. They are regularly placed in dangerous and traumatic situations and they are expected to perform flawlessly and for the past 40 months, our officers have been outfitted with the Utility product,” said Aldenberg. “This product has caused a great deal of frustration and angst due to the performance issues.”

Aldenberg said that cost savings of switching to a DEMS system from portable electronic media would be approximately $77,000 a year and could help prevent data corruption. A request for proposals for the DEMS switch also led Aldenberg to recommend Axon and he told the committee he also recommends upgrading from the Axon 7 to the Axon 10 taser.

The Axon 10 has 10 cartridges versus the two of the Axon 7 and can be used from 45 feet rather than the 25 feet limit of the Axon 7. Aldenberg said with the body camera and DEMS contracts, the city would receive a credit for the taser upgrade and the current taser contract is set to expire in 2025.

The three contracts with Axon would cost the city $4.2 million for six years, with an $808,000 savings for upgrading the taser contract now rather than at the end of the current contract.

In response to a question from Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart, Aldenberg is in preliminary discussions with the city solicitor’s office to recoup costs of the contract with Utility for potential breach of contract, although it’s unclear if these efforts might be successful.