HUDSON – The Hudson police department is one step closer to receiving new body-worn cameras and Tasers.
During the Dec. 5 meeting, the Select Board awarded a contract to Axon Enterprises, Inc. for $65,136.14 for the police equipment, including the body-worn cameras, Tasers and related expenses.
Axon is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Hudson’s procurement was made through the purchasing collaborative Sourcewell.
This comes about a month after Town Meeting approved two articles that called for the acquisition of the new equipment, one of which was the authorization of a lease purchase finance agreement for body-worn cameras and a second for the adoption of body-worn cameras.
The police department’s 2023 fiscal year budget, which was approved at Town Meeting in May, had appropriated $40,450 for the body-worn cameras and less-lethal devices. The total first-year cost to include in the lease finance agreement for body-worn cameras and less-lethal devices is $65,137.
During the Select Board meeting, Police Chief Richard DiPersio said there will be a five-year useful life warranty for the tasers.
Member Michael Burks Sr., who previously served as Hudson’s police chief, called the five-year warranty “excellent.”
In the past, DiPersio has said he believes the equipment will benefit both the Hudson community and police department.
“I think it is a good thing for the department and for the community as well. There has been a lot of transparency and accountability in policing, especially in the past two or three years, and I think this is just another means for us to do that,” he said.
