Englewood council approves $95,000 Axon AI add-on for police body cameras
The 6-1 vote adds Axon Assistant to Englewood’s police body-camera contract after officials said officers had already used the tool for translation, policy lookups and general questions.
Englewood City Council voted 6-1 on July 6 to approve a contract addendum adding Axon Assistant to police body-worn cameras.
Police Chief Jackson said the addendum adds $95,000 over five years and brings the city’s Axon contract to “just under $1.9 million,” according to the July 6 council meeting. He said the assistant module should have been included in the original agreement but was left out by mistake.
Jackson told council the tool had already been in limited use for about six weeks, from the end of April until about June 12. During that period, officers used it for 130 translated conversations, 16 general-information questions and eight policy lookups. He said the translation, general-question and policy-lookup functions can each be turned on or off.
Council members who backed the item said the translation function was especially valuable because of safety and language-barrier concerns.
Several members also said the city should adopt broader guardrails as it expands its use of generative AI, including a written policy, training and periodic updates before renewal. But council did not adopt a citywide AI policy, audit standard or disclosure rule on July 6.
The Axon addendum was a separate agenda item and vote from the city’s recent fireworks discussions.