By Suzie Ziegler
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers and Axon are partnering to equip Green Bay Police with body-worn cameras, Axon announced Wednesday. The NFL team’s financial contribution is part of the Packer’s ongoing pledge to support social justice and racial equity in Wisconsin.
Green Bay Police will get 190 Axon Body 3 cameras, 45 Axon Fleet 2 in-car cameras and 150 TASER 7 devices, Axon said. The equipment is part of a five-year subscription that includes access to software products like Virtual Reality Empathy Training and Redaction Assistant.
In partnership with Axon, the Packers released a video about their decision to team up with the company.
https://twitter.com/packers/status/1339179025886031872
“As an organization, we are committed to using our platform and providing resources to help achieve racial equity and social justice,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “In conversations with our players, community partners and elected officials, we determined that supporting this purchase would complement our many other efforts to address injustices in our communities of color. The cameras will also help the police perform their duties more effectively and benefit the local community. We are proud to be working with Green Bay and Axon to bring this technology to our city in order to enhance public safety and affect meaningful change.”
This is the first time a major league sports team has funded police safety technology for their community, according to Axon.
“We’re excited to work with the Packers and the Green Bay Police Department to reach one common goal – protecting life,” said Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith in a statement. “It’s inspiring to partner with organizations across industries to make a real change when it comes to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in our society. Body cameras are a critical component of transparency and performance in law enforcement and we believe this technology can help bridge the relationship between police and communities.”
NEXT: Axon releases new features to improve police performance, transparency