Stun-gun manufacturer Taser has announced that it will offer free body cameras to all American police officers and a year's worth of storage for the footage, Ars Technica reports. Taser is additionally changing its name to "Axon," the brand name of its body camera.
"Only 20 percent [of police officers] have a camera," Axon's CEO, Rick Smith, told Ars Technica. "Eighty percent are going out with a gun and no camera."
The move is perhaps naturally motivated by profit — Axon wants to dominate the body camera market and the offer to America's police force is an attempt to beat out its rivals. But Smith noted that police are also facing increasing criticism.
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"Our belief is that a body camera is to a cop what a smartphone is to a civilian," Smith said. "Cops spend about two-thirds of their time doing paperwork. We believe, within 10 years, we can automate police reporting. We can effectively triple the world's police force."
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