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A natural transition from the TASER X2
For Sgt. Lee McKellar of Rock Hill Police Department, staying on the cutting edge of technology helps his agency keep their officers and the community safe.
So when his department’s TASER X2 CEWs were approaching the end of their 5-year useful life, he advocated for transitioning to the TASER 7 device. Making the upgrade was a clear choice for the department, which issues TASER devices to all of its 158 sworn officers. Over the years, the department’s TASER CEWs have consistently proven their value, Sgt. McKellar said, with their presence often enough to de-escalate a situation, making them vital, standard- issue equipment.
According to Sgt. McKellar, the department quickly saw the value of a double-shot device after shifting to the TASER X2 CEW in 2014-2015, making the adoption of the TASER 7 CEW a natural transition.
“From an officer safety level, it’s a no-brainer to move over to [a double-shot TASER CEW],” he said, noting that it could take an officer several critical seconds to reload a single-shot device after a miss.
Close quarter confidence
Aside from the advantages of a dual-shot CEW, Sgt. McKellar said that TASER 7’s Close Quarter cartridges, rechargeable batteries, and dock and walk workflow played a major factor in the department’s decision to upgrade.
He noted that he had analyzed his agency’s previous TASER probe deployments and found that the vast majority occurred within 6 to 8 feet — with a few occurring at around 10 to 12 feet. TASER 7’s Close Quarter cartridges, which are optimized for a close-range deployment distance, were a perfect fit for his agency’s needs.
“Finally, there’s a company listening to the rank-and-file officers saying, ‘Hey, you know our TASER contacts are within 6, 7, 8 feet or so,’” he said.
Streamlined program management
In addition, Sgt. McKellar found that TASER 7’s wireless design and new program management enhancements would save him several hours each month — and improve the agency’s ability to serve the community.
He uses the Axon Device Manager mobile application to easily assign or re-assign devices and batteries, making assignment “on the fly” with his phone.
Before using the TASER 7’s swappable, rechargeable batteries, officers would occasionally report that their TASER X2 batteries had died. If Sgt. McKellar was not at the station, he would have to return from home and switch the battery out. He estimated that the process of getting the officer’s call, returning, and swapping out batteries could take up to 90 minutes.
“Given how busy we are with calls for service, to have one person off the road really puts a stress on everybody else out there,” Sgt. McKellar said. “Having the freedom and the capability just to grab the battery and go is [invaluable].”
Officers immediately noticed the enhancements during training. They were really excited about getting their hands on it,” Sgt. McKellar said, noting that the agency spent a significant part of the training unholstering the CEW to get familiar with its new holster design and running live scenarios with the HALT suit.
“They love the TASER 7... you can’t buy that pride in a piece of equipment,” he said, finding that officers appreciate the device because they know that they can depend on it.
One predictable package
When the department upgraded, they bundled their TASER 7 CEWs with Axon Body 3 cameras through the Officer Safety Plan 7+ (OSP 7+) package. The bundle ensures budget predictability for the agency — and resolved previous equipment availability concerns.
“Prior to going into the OSP program, we would buy our cartridges for our [TASER] X2s as needed. We would have our annual training in the fall or spring — you start laying things out and you realize, ‘Oh no, I am x amount of cartridges short,’ and you submit a request to your chain of command to purchase $1,500 or $1,600 worth of cartridges that you didn’t anticipate,” he said.
“It can raise some eyebrows. So with OSP, laying everything out, it’s one payment a year spread out over several years, but you’re budgeting. You’re also saying, ‘I know for a fact that I am going to have this many cartridges and this many devices on hand, so I can plan out my training.’”
“It was always a juggling game almost because you were just trying to keep everything in motion, because when people want to go to training, they obviously want to just go ahead and get it done. And for me to come up and say, ‘No, you can’t go because we don’t have enough cartridges,’ that would fall back on me... with OSP, it’s always there on hand.”
Beyond the budgetary and equipment availability benefits of OSP 7+, Sgt. McKellar said that Axon’s body cameras and TASER CEWs go together like “peanut butter and jelly.” The two devices help mitigate risk and build trust.
“I really think that you have to have both of those pieces of equipment in today’s law enforcement to be out there and to maintain the public trust.”
In short, Sgt. McKellar said that adopting TASER 7 CEWs was just another step toward Rock Hill PD’s mission to serve the community by staying at the forefront of technology.
When asked what he would tell an agency considering upgrading, his answer was simple.
“If you’re on the fence about it, don’t hesitate, go ahead and make that switch over,” he said. “You’re not going to regret it.”