by Geoff Fox
Town officials last month gave the Hancock Police Department the green light to purchase new body cameras, vehicle cameras, and tasers from Axon.
Those pieces of equipment are in the hands of the police department, but they aren’t functional yet.
Sgt. Shawn Faith told town officials they wouldn’t be 100% functional until mid-September.
He said he notified both the Washington County Sheriff’ Department and Hagerstown Police Department who told him it’s common for Axon to take that long to get equipment online.
This is due to the company having to book people to fly to Hancock or subcontract it out to get it ready.
“The quicker they can get it done for you, all the better,” Mayor Roland Lanehart said.
In the new cameras, officers will have a translation app that can translate 50 languages to assist in stops where the person doesn’t speak English as a first language.
The cost of the cameras in the Axon quote would be $138,361, which would break down to a monthly payment of $27,819 this August, and then $27,635 each year through 2030.
The cost would be for seven body cameras, five vehicle cameras, 10 tasers, and translator.
Proceeds from the RedSpeed cameras by the high school and elementary school will pay for the contract.
To get the cost where it is, the town is piggybacking off the contract Maryland State Police has with Axon.
