Chelsea City Council passed a 10-year contract with Axon for body and vehicle cameras for the Chelsea Police Department (CPD) unanimously at the June 22 meeting. The contract will cost the city $340,761.16 in total with no interest.
“The police department utilizes body cameras and vehicle cameras as its evidence and transparency needs,” Police Chief Kevin Kazyak said at the meeting. “The current contract with Axon, for the last five years, will expire in August of 2026.”
Along with being used in Chelsea for the past five years, Axon body cameras are also the standard in Ann Arbor, Northfield and Milan, according to Kazyak. The cameras have become a crucial part of the way local police forces operate.
“When I started my career, we didn’t have cameras, and we would send up a report,” Kazyak said. “Now, reports don’t go up without a body camera, without a vehicle camera, so that is a piece of evidence that we have to have moving forward, and the prosecutor’s office won’t issue certain things without having that information.”
The contract also states that Axon will outfit police vehicles every five years with updated camera technology, and body cameras are to be upgraded every two to two and a half years. Chris Tran, a representative from Axon, spoke at the meeting to assure council and community members that the contract is designed to save the city money, not force their hand if they choose not to continue.
“You have the opportunity to rewrite your contract into another one at any point,” Tran said. “We make it pretty easy to get out of them. We don’t want to, you know, basically lock you guys into anything you don’t want to be locked into, but essentially the 10 year just locks you with the 2026 pricing with Axon.”
Council passed the contract extension unanimously.
114 North Main St Suite 10 Chelsea, MI 48118
