Fort Pierce approves $10.14 million five‑year Axon contract for police cameras, tasers and AI tools

The Fort Pierce City Commission approved a five‑year contract with Axon Enterprises for police technology and equipment on Sept. 14. The contract totals $10,139,037.87, structured as annual installments of $999,999 for the first five years and $1,028,807.57 per year for a subsequent optional five‑year renewal term.

Chief Dave Smith described the package as the Axon suite — body cameras, Tasers and an array of AI tools — and highlighted language‑translation features that the department hopes will assist officers during multilingual encounters. "There's so many breakthroughs happening so quickly... This allows us to be on the forefront with Axon for those tools," Smith said, adding that the city negotiated the top tier so new AI tools would be delivered as part of the suite.

Commissioners discussed privacy, redaction obligations for public records, the need for policy before rolling out AI tools, and the advisory board that provides community input on policing. The chief said the department will adopt policies before deploying new capabilities and that the Police Advisory Board is being considered for expansion to broaden community representation. The consent item including the Axon contract was approved following discussion and roll call.