Zeke Cohen flags spending on high-tech police equipment
The Baltimore Police Department’s reliance on Axon Enterprise raises questions about whether the city is getting the best deal, Council President Cohen says
Above: Three officers in the Northwestern District sport body-worn cameras. (BPD, Facebook)
Compared to the record-setting $153 million contract struck between the Baltimore Police Department and Axon Enterprise on May 6, the Board of Estimates approval of a $2.5 million add-on to a soon-to-expire Axon Enterprise contract seemed like small potatoes.
But the deal, which sped through yesterday’s board meeting without discussion, alarmed City Council President Zeke Cohen enough to vote against it. He later said the city is simply relying too much on one company, currently a darling on Wall Street, to modernize its police force.
The approval will fix an administrative oversight that resulted in an “incorrect contract draw down” for body worn cameras (BWCs), Police Commissioner Richard J. Worley said in a brief memo.
Approved for $11.7 million in 2016, the Axon contract has undergone seven amendments – and a tripling of price to $37.7 million – to boost BWC and taser purchases as well as install Axon’s cloud-based system to store and manage video and audio footage.
Such spending is just a preview of Chief Worley’s ambition to revolutionize police operations under Axon’s $153 million contract to go into effect next month.
By 2036, BPD envisions a police department equipped with VR (virtual reality) cadet training, smart drones acting as emergency first responders, BWCs with breakthrough AV (audiovisual) and “real-time situational awareness.”
Also on the horizon: AI-powered software to transcribe suspect interviews, write crime reports and interact with the public.
The new technology will help offset the chronic shortage of officers and free up more department time to do policing rather than paperwork, says BPD’s Chief Technology Officer Derek Canton.
“We have become deeply entangled with Axon, and it will be difficult to chart a different course” – Council President Zeke Cohen
Cohen cast the lone vote against the $153 million contract. Reliance on one company to provide tech services is problematic, he said, and other companies should be allowed to bid.
“Competitive bidding is important,” he said.
Axon’s high-priced technology and aggressive salesmanship have sparked controversy in other cities. A Motorola Solutions executive told the spending board it could have reduced the cost of police contract by $50 million if it had been allowed to compete.
The Council president did not say why he voted against the Axon add-on yesterday. His spokesperson, Emily Sullivan, later released this statement to The Brew:
“Council President Cohen voted no because BPD has not demonstrated a willingness to put those services to bid in the market. Today’s contract predates his time on the Board of Estimates and ultimately serves as an accounting maneuver to balance the books and pay Axon what the city contractually owes them. We have become deeply entangled with Axon, and it will be difficult to chart a different course.”
FOR MORE:
• Baltimore to spend a record amount on new police technology via single-source contract (5/5/26)