The proposed $234,786 contract is with Taser International, an Arizona company that makes cameras and tasers. Watch video
TRENTON — Trenton police have chosen a body camera vendor and plan to buy 150 of the devices from the company once City Council approves the contract.
The $234,786 contract with Taser International, an Arizona company, is on the council's docket for Thursday night. Federal grant money comprises $103,279 of the total.
Trenton police Detective Alexis Durlacher said Tuesday that the police department sought sample cameras from five companies and received and tested cameras from four of them.
Three officers from separate police units tested the cameras for three weeks, Durlacher said.
The department liked the Taser devices, as well as their solutions for storing footage, Durlacher said.
"I think we did our due diligence in testing them out," Durlacher said. She also worked on the project and obtained the grant money.
Plans for the 150 cameras include all patrol officers being issued their own camera, then having detectives and other specialized units utilizing a pool of the remaining cameras, Durlacher said.
The contract would commence next month, but the Durlacher did not have an exact timetable on when the cameras would be deployed by officers.
State officials announced in December they were granting money to 176 police departments across the state to buy more than 5,000 body cameras.
Also on Thursday's council agenda is a contract for an electronic ticketing system, E-Ticketing, for officers.
The contract with Gold Type Business Machines, Inc. in East Rutherford would run three years and not exceed $75,000. The contract calls for pricing that is per ticket written: 23 cents per ticket for year one and 21 cents per ticket for years two and three.
Gold Type's website says their E-Ticketing system allows officers to issue citations in less than 30 seconds from in-car computers or hand-held devices and eliminates data entry errors.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.