Throughout the years, Axon has prided itself on its innovation and ability to adapt and improve its devices to keep up with the needs of law enforcement officers.
At the International Association of Chief's of Police conference in Orlando earlier this month, the company made a big splash with a bevy of announcements, which included an upgraded version of the device that gave it its start with the TASER 7 conducted energy weapon.
"These are pretty significant. I've been with the company since the very beginning and if you look at the history of our weapons, what we've dealt with is the Achilles heal of every device," TASER spokesman Steve Tuttle said during a meeting with members of the media at IACP 2018. "We're improving the system as best as possible and we're making it more accountable."
The TASER 7 is the first to be completely integrated into the Axon Evidence system the body cameras currently use and includes key improvements that Tuttle said will make it an even more effective tool for officers on the street.
"There are a lot of wholesale improvements, but when you look at the system here, what is really nice about the TASER 7 is that it actually manages your inventory. In that battery pack, we've done a 'dock and walk.' It's carrying all of that data of what you've fired. If you were to take all of your firings you would know the exact time, date, whether (the device) had a good connection, was it hitting a conducted target, did you miss. All of those things are in there.
"Because of accountability reasons, you may say 'Well I was hit twice.' I am able to document that my first shot missed."
The new device also addresses spread issues and includes updated probes that make it easier for them to latch on to a subject's body when shot at an angle.
"When our older probes would hit, an angled shot -- not a straight-on shot -- would tend to carry on and pull out. If you get one probe in there, it does nothing. You don't get 50 percent of the energy, you get zero."
The company also announced a redesigned Axon Academy and TASER 7 weapon reality-based training program that is aimed to help better equip officers to de-escalate situations. The program -- which will be offered beginning in the first quarter of 2019 -- includes empathy training for dealing with the mentally ill and lessons on how to make decisions in high-pressure situations.
"We're trying to show them that we can de-escalate these devices," Tuttle said.
A brighter and louder warning arc and laser dots can be used to put the subject on alert without actually firing the weapon. Tuttle said that in the United Kingdom, the company is seeing 80 to 90 percent success rates just using warning arcs, good verbal commands and the laser dots.
"It really gets the attention of people," Tuttle said, adding that when people hear the arc and are given good verbal commands by an officer, "Hopefully they comply with you just on that and we never had to deploy the device."
