STAFF REPORT
City of Lancaster
CC 17
4/28/2026
TN
Date:April 28, 2026
To: Mayor Parris and City Council Members
From:Rodrick Armalin, Director of Public Safety
Subject:Proposal for the purchase of additional Axon equipment for Lancaster Police Department Traffic Enforcement
Recommendation:
1.Approve the purchase of Axon body cameras, vehicle cameras, tasers and accompanying systems.
2.Authorize the City Manager to negotiate, revise and finalize all associated agreements, subject to approval by the City Attorney.
G.C. Section 84308: No
Fiscal Impact:
$757,308.07; ($63,577 FY 26 and $173,432.73 FY 27-30) as per the attached Axon Quote #Q823718-46113SB to be paid from account 10130000.5710 for FY26 and 11218300.5361 for FY27-30.
Background:
On August 26, 2025, the City Council approved an agreement with Axon for Body Worn Cameras (BWC) to outfit the current officers and police cars in operation at that time. With the advent of Lancaster Police Department taking over Traffic Enforcement from LASD, additional Axon equipment is necessary for the new officers and police cars.
This new Axon agreement supersedes the City’s other Axon agreements and puts all of Lancaster Police Departments Axon equipment and accompanying systems on the same agreement aligning all renewals and replacement dates for easier fleet management.
Axon, procured through Contract Sourcewell #101223-AXN, has been in the business of BWC for many years and its dependability proven in agencies across the nation, including LASD. The 2 3
5 8
addition of Axon BWC’s to the Lancaster Police Department will serve to ensure this crucial piece of equipment serves its role as expected. This purchase will come with the added benefit of AI assisted report writing and auto-transcribe, reducing the time officers spend writing, freeing them up to focus on community issues. Further, this plan includes BWC tie-in with the Lancaster Police Department’s Drone-as-a-First-Responder program, enabling an officer to call for an automated drone response through the BWC. Finally, as part of the Axon ecosystem, cameras will automatically begin recording when an officer draws a firearm, deploys a taser, or activates lights and sirens, allowing officers to focus on what is critical while still ensuring officer activity is captured appropriately.
This proposal also includes in-vehicle camera systems which focus on the road and focus on the backseat to monitor detained persons’ well-being and actions. The forward camera is equipped with ALPR to add to the already robust technology of the Intelligence Crime Center’s capabilities.
Finally, the Axon system comes with the ability to provide links to the public so they can provide images and video of events related to a case or incident. The ability to integrate public provided evidence into a case enhances surety of facts and conclusions.
Attachment:
Lancaster PD – Axon Sourcewell Piggyback Agreement_4.14.26 Axon Quote #Q823718-46113SB
AXON COI Documents
California Levine Act