On Tuesday, June 2, Brighton City Council voted 7-0 (two Council members absent) to approve a 10-year $2.7 million contract to AXON Enterprises Inc. to implement body-worn cameras for the Brighton Police Department’s Officer Safety Program 7+. In 2020, Council tasked the Brighton Police Department with implementing a comprehensive, cloud-based body-worn camera (BWC) program. Around the same time, the State Legislature passed Senate Bill 20-217 which required all municipal law enforcement to have body-worn cameras by 2023. 

As part of the purchase for the Officer Safety Program 7+, there will be body-worn cameras (including all necessary accessories, auto-tagging for footage, and signal activation technology) for all sworn staff. In addition, a taser will be issued for all sworn staff (includes voucher for training and supplies) and 25 marked patrol cars will be outfitted with dash cameras (two per car with an automatic license plate reader). The department will also have unlimited access to evidence.com for cloud-based storage of all digital media, a predetermined upgrade schedule (i.e. body cameras will be upgraded at the 2.5-year, 7.5-year and 10-year marks), a no-fault replacement warranty on all hardware, and the purchase will cover installation and set-up. 

“The implementation of body-worn cameras is a high priority for the Brighton Police Department,” said Commander Matthew Domenico. “The transparency they will help provide the community is going to be invaluable.”

To come up with recommendations, key stakeholders formed a BWC task force, including all police department divisions, information technology, municipal courts, victims services and task forces. The task force researched and solicited feedback from surrounding agencies utilizing body-worn cameras and also identified existing products and technologies currently in use that would be impacted by the addition of body-worn cameras.

The body-worn cameras and cloud-based storage will provide the District Attorney’s office with access to digital media that will become part of almost every case moving forward.

If you have questions, please contact Commander Domenico at mdomenico@brightonco.gov.