The San Marcos City Council approved a one-year, $48,860 contract extension with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for digital evidence storage for the San Marcos Police Department. An amendment added terms on data privacy, cybersecurity, vendor diversity and preventing Axon from using city data to develop its products.
Police Chief Stan Standridge said the contract covers only digital evidence and does not include license plate reader cameras, tasers or cameras. Assistant IT Director Carl Stewart said Axon meets many regulatory requirements and uses AWS and Microsoft, as the city does. Purchasing Manager Veronica Bradshaw said Axon will not delete customer content for 90 days after a merger or closure and will provide written proof of full deletion.
Council Member Amanda Rodriguez said supporting research was not included in the public agenda materials. Council Member Alyssa Garza said the city could have been more transparent and raised Axon's Customer Experience Improvement Program, which shares deidentified content with Axon. Garza also said an opt-out option was discussed earlier but not included in the agenda materials.