GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – Arizona-based law enforcement technology manufacturer Axon Enterprise’s massive semi-truck pulled into Grand Chute Police Department’s parking lot Tuesday morning ahead of its roadshow, giving officers from agencies across the area the chance to get hands-on with the equipment.
“It’s up to each agency, whether it’s local, county or state, to find the appropriate funds and do those long-term contracts and have the capability to have that latest technology in their hands,” Axon Enterprise roadshow team lead Andrew Padilla said.
Amid years of increasing scrutiny for law enforcement, Padilla believes that Axon’s products — particularly body and dash cameras — hold a crucial role in transparency and trust for the public.
“It’s about capturing the truth,” Padilla said. “It’s going to give you that angle that the officer was seeing, it’s going to give you that daytime perception whether the officer is outside, they go into a dark room, they go into a basement, they climb into an attic.”
Grand Chute Police Department stands by the significance that high-quality recordings have in the public’s eyes, and they are used regularly by officers, according to Corporal Dylan Davis.
“That can be used in court, that can be used in investigations, we can refer back to those notes or body camera video if we have to refer back to a specific statement somebody says,” Davis said. “The incidents that law enforcement deal with is important to capture and release to our public, as well as in the court process, to help gather that evidence, whether good or bad, to help in our investigations.”
Davis was excited to welcome Axon and agencies from across Outagamie County and further-away jurisdictions in Wisconsin, as he hopes that it can help other departments make upgrades to their equipment after trying it Tuesday.
“Maybe if some agencies aren’t using that technology, they can come and see how they can implement that in their agency,” he said.
The Grand Chute Police Department uses a system of body cameras and Tasers that Axon makes. A development in recent years is that the cameras are synced with squad car lights and sirens, and also the tools on an officer’s belt, so that the cameras begin recording as soon as an officer takes action without actually having to physically turn the cameras on.
“Now that we have those automated systems in place, our officers can focus on the task at hand rather than worrying about those technologies,” Davis said. “Technology makes us safer, our community safer, and we like to be able to stay ahead of that.”
One item that Grand Chute Police is investing in is the Taser 10, the latest in Axon’s line. I got to try it myself. After pulling the safety switch, a quick pull of the trigger is all that it takes, and a laser aids in aiming.
With no training, the instructor said I nailed the target, shooting two prongs at least 12 inches apart on the target. User-friendly, accurate and efficiently deployed within seconds, it’s officers’ chosen tool to safely take an individual into custody who is resisting or running.
“Once our department officers are fully trained up, we’re going to move onto the Taser 10s, which Axon has here to demo,” Davis said. “The Tasers cause what’s called neuromuscular incapacitation, so it locks the subject up and allows officers to take control of the subject so that our officers don’t get injured as well as the subject.”
Axon travels to departments across the country and will be visiting Mequon on Thursday.
