Tasers are weapons designed to be non-lethal that are used by police to deliver a shock.
Missoula Police Chief Jaeson White told council that the department, when putting together its budget proposal, asked Axon Enterprises (formerly TASER International), for a price quote. If they signed the purchase contract before July 1, it would save around $30,000, he said.
The department has 14 Tasers that are over 14 years old and 18 additional Tasers over 10 years old. Axon no longer supports those devices, White said, meaning Missoula cannot get service or cartridges for those weapons.
"If anything goes wrong with them, we have to shelve them," White said.
Specifically, the request is for 65 new Taser units and 65 pairs of virtual reality goggles, as well as training suits. Training scenarios included in the virtual reality program include de-escalation and crisis intervention, according to a city document.
The $307,000 will be spread over five years and is a purchase, not a lease. It also includes maintenance. Detectives will now be issued a Taser and the city will have over 120 of the weapons, White said.
Previous requests for support of Missoula's Taser program have come through federal grant dollars, but would not cover the shortfall White said the force has, which is why the funding request came to council.
In addition to detectives, reserve officers who perform security duties at city council meetings and bailiff duties at municipal court will now have Tasers. White also said no other company produces a product that would meet the needs of Missoula's police force.
The request was a new business item and did not come through city council's Public Safety and Health committee. New business items are added when issues are time-sensitive.
"I appreciate the fact the chief highlighted the fact that this didn't come through normal procedures because there was an opportunity to save the city some money," said councilor Stacie Anderson, who chairs the Public Safety and Health committee.
"I think that having non-lethal uses of force are an important component of keeping our community safe ... I'm happy to support it and want to make sure we have all options available for our officers," she said.
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