Tasering the competition

Sheriff Bill Gore is out shopping for body cameras just as the provider of the costly electronic devices to San Diego police is coming in for a sizable dose of national scrutiny.

A March 20 solicitation from the county's purchasing office says it is "seeking proposals for a body-worn camera system (to include camera, related accessories and storage solution) for the Sheriff's Department.”

Adds the document, “The goals of deploying the system are: (1) to provide greater transparency/accountability in daily interactions between the Sheriff's deputies and citizens and (2) to provide more conclusive evidence to reduce false allegations and civil liability claims against the County.”

The county estimates that "2,100 body-worn cameras and all related accessories in the first year will be purchased, plus on-going related maintenance and support services anticipated through a total term of five years.”

According to the request for proposals, "the County estimates it will collect 500,000 hours of video annually and it will need to be stored for three years.”

No final cost is estimated, but the massive size of the lucrative contract is expected to attract interest from a number of major bidders; one in particular may have a head start, thanks to its close relationship with the San Diego Police Department.

The city won the race for installing local cop cameras, along with lots of positive publicity, by hooking up with Arizona-based Taser International last year. The company has since become a focus of media scrutiny for showering jobs and free trips on law-enforcement officials who back the company's products.

Taser "has cultivated financial ties to police chiefs whose departments have bought the recording devices, raising conflict-of-interest questions," a according to a March 3 Associated Press account.

"Over the past 18 months, Taser has reached consulting agreements with two such chiefs weeks after they retired, and it is in talks with a third who also backed the purchase of its products, the AP has learned. Taser is planning to send two of them to speak at luxury hotels in Australia and the United Arab Emirates in March at events where they will address other law enforcement officers considering body cameras."

In San Diego, notes a February report in USA Today, "City Council President Pro Tem Marti Emerald said the city approved a nearly $1 million sole-source contract with Taser last year because it offered a potential 'solution' to a public safety problem."

According to USA Today, "Emerald said the city considered other providers, including Seattle-based Vievu. But she said Taser offered a product that 'meets our need.' Following a field trial of the Taser cameras, the city's purchasing officials recommended approval because of 'unique' functions of the Taser device that were 'deemed a necessity,' according to city documents."

A March 3 update from the San Diego Police Department to the council regarding the status of the body-camera contract notes, "Three hundred cameras were purchased from Taser International at the end of fiscal year 2014. An additional three hundred cameras were purchased in fiscal year 2015.”

Adds the document, "The contract with Taser International specifies four hundred additional cameras to be purchased in fiscal year 2016."