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APD Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 2013 through Fiscal Year 2017(Approximate Date) APD creates “Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 2013 through Fiscal Year 2017” over a six-month period in 2012. Among the objectives listed is to “Expand Taser / Evidence.com services.” -
Taser Party
(Approximate Date) Chief Schultz, Deputy Chief Allen Banks, and Deputy City Attorney Kathy Levy are invited to a Night Club party in hosted by Taser at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in San Diego in October. “You need to register,” Schultz writes to Levy in an email. “Done,” she replies. -
Taser’s Stingaree Nightclub Event
(Approximate Date) Taser’s Stingaree Nightclub event takes place in San Diego. News 13 asked Levy whether registering/accepting free tickets was a violation of the City’s Code of Ethics pertaining to accepting gifts from vendors. In an April 2014 email, Levy told News 13, “There as no violation of the City Code of Ethics.” She declined to explain why. Banks told News 13 he registered for tickets but did not attend. Schultz declined an interview. -
Taser Cameras
(Approximate Date) According to APD’s monthly report, Taser cameras were deployed to the “B Squad in the Southeast Area Command.” -
Grayson Email
(Approximate Date) Taser salesman Andrew Grayson sends email to Schultz saying, “It was nice to finally meet you in person. Please find attached the entire ABQ PPT presentation for your review.” As of April 23, the city of Albuquerque has refused to release this Power Point Presentation despite repeated public records requests. -
Taser Contract Extension
On January 17, according to data from the City’s Purchasing Division, APD extends open-ended contract for Taser equipment and supplies for another two years. According to the city’s website, APD has spent $1,465,138.50 under this contract as of April 2014.
On January 18, Schultz meets with Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry and informs him of his plans to retire in the summer or fall (information from a letter Shultz sent to Perry). -
Retirement Plans
On January 18, Schultz meets with Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry and informs him of his plans to retire in the summer or fall (information from a letter Shultz sent to Perry). -
Taser Axon Flex Cameras
On February 13, Taser does a brief on the Taser Axon Flex cameras for APD brass. The Power Point presentation, created by Taser representatives, outlines a roadmap for full deployment of the lapel cameras in the department. It shows Schultz has given Taser information on how many cameras APD would need for “total deployment,” and that Taser already had a “firm implementation and training schedule for soft and hard roll-out.” -
Taser Proposal
On March 1, Taser sends a proposal addressed to Schutlz for 75 AXON Flex lapel cams. APD's fiscal manager Aubrey Thompson makes a 100K request for the cameras dated the same day. -
Funding Approval
On March 13, the city’s Information Services Committee approves request for the funding. -
Formal Retirment Plans
Schultz addresses a letter to CAO Rob Perry, formally writing his plans to retire in the summer or fall, adding, “A major computer upgrade is scheduled for this summer that has been in the works for two years,” and that he wanted to “ensure the success” of the project. -
Schultz Announces Retirement
On March 15, Schultz makes retirement announcement public. -
Taser Order
On March 28, Taser sends a press release announcing APD’s order for 75 cameras. -
Schultz Agrees to Speak at Taser Conference
On May 11, Taser salesman Andrew Grayson asks Schultz to speak at Texas conference hosted by Taser marketing. The same day, Schultz agreed. -
MCC Conference
On Mary 28, Schultz speaks at the MCC conference at the DFW Hilton lakes, which includes a hosted reception and dinner. -
Taser, Schultz Meet
On May 30, Grayson sends Schultz an email saying it was nice to meet Schultz’s wife, and asking for advice about what he “should not bring up” with APD”s purchasing officer in a meeting. “Just looking for command guidance on this,” Grayson writes. Schultz does not reply by email. -
Command Guidance
On July 17, Grayson again asks for "command guidance" from Schultz about a scheduled a city meeting. Schultz doesn't write any “guidance” through email, but sends a reply mentioning he made a presentation about success with Taser products at a law enforcement conference. -
Taser Quote
On July 18, Grayson/Taser sends a 5 year, $1.95 million quote to APD for Taser Axon Flex cameras and online storage. -
Schultz Announces Last Day
Schultz publicly announces his last official day as APD Chief will be August 3. -
APD, ABQ Salute Chief Schultz
On August 2, city leaders gathered between APD and city headquarters to salute the Chief as he stepped out of office. Schultz stays with APD as a consultant for another month. -
Disbursement Request
On August 20, Aubrey Thompson requests a disbursement for the first year of the 5-year Taser Axon Flex contract for $345,725. -
Funding Request
On August 23, Sgt. Drager requests the funding from the city’s Technical Review Committee (TRC) saying "APD has proven this technology through a now completed pilot program." -
Note to Taser
Schultz sends a note to Taser salesman Grayson as an “FYI” about his last day with APD on September 6. He writes, "I will still have the ear of the Mayor/CAO on department issues," adding "If there's anything I can do for you or Taser, especially to talk about my/our experiences, please let me know." -
Taser's Response to Note
An hour later, Grayson writes back asking on “insight” for going before City Council for final presentation for going full deployment on cameras and writes, "Is consulting something you'd consider?" Shultz says, “Sure” and says, “As for the TRC meeting, everything has been greased so it should go without any issues.” -
Email to KRQE News 13
In an email to News 13, Schultz says he used a “poor choice of words” and explains the comment this way: “The account representative had offered to provide technical assistance in reference to explaining Cloud storage. APD declined that assistance due to the expertise of the Technical Review Committee and them already having been briefed on the use of the cloud as a storage platform.” -
Taser Axon Flex Cameras Presentation
On September 5, the TRC heard a presentation by Grayson about the benefits of the Taser Axon Flex cameras and cloud storage. The TRC committee unanimously approves adding the cameras as a “commodity item.” -
Taser Axon Flex Presentation 2
The meeting agenda includes the following statement, attributed to Sgt. Drager: “The limitations of the current body worn camera at APD are increasingly evident, causing lost/missed data, and increasing costs. Piloting of the Axon Flex camera has been positive and, while more expensive up front, the improved device will lead to better functionality and lower costs in the long run.” -
Schultz's Last Day
On September 6, Schultz finishes his last day with APD but stays on City payroll for several months as he cashed out unused benefits. -
Taser Contract
On September 24, Interim Police Chief Allen Banks signs a $1.95 million, 5-year contract for Taser Axon Flex cameras, Evidence.com storage and accessories. -
Contract Signed Off
On September 30, Chief Procurement Officer Ramona Banks signs off. -
Taser Consultant
(Approximate Date) Schultz begins consulting work for Taser, according to his statements in an interview with News 13 in February 14. -
Taser Press Release
On October 7, Taser releases a press release announcing APD’s acquisition of another 525 Axon Flex cameras, making them the “largest deployment of AXON and Evidence.com.” Schultz is quoted in the press release, saying, "After testing and evaluating several different systems we decided on the AXON flex Camera System and EVIDENCE.com service as our video management platform.” -
Taser Program Review
(Approximate Date) According to APD’s monthly report, APD staff met with the District Attorney’s office to “review the progress of the Taser camera pilot project.” It says APD is working with Taser to solve problems with titling videos. “Some files have duplicate titles for videos that are totally unrelated,” it says. -
Taser at Tech Summit
On January 17, APD Tech Manager Clint Hubbard accepts invite from Taser for a March Tech Sumit with expenses, including “hotel, airfare and meals” paid by Taser, then asks for Banks’ approval. Hubbard does not respond to requests for comment. Banks tells News 13, “This was not a gift. He [Hubbard] was actually a speaker or played a role at this summit.” -
Lapel Camera Bid
On February 28, Schultz tells News 13 in an interview that the lapel cameras did go out for bid. "It does go through a bid process.,” he said. “We did look at several other vendors and several other pieces of equipment - it just so happened that this the piece of equipment that was used." -
Taser Contract Confirmation
Starting on February 28, emails between News 13 and city spokespeople confirm the $1.95 million contract for Taser Axon Flex cameras never went out to bid. They offered several different reasons for why this contract didn’t need to go out to bid, even though multiple companies make lapel cameras. -
Taser Camera Issues
On April 11, an APD Department memo addresses issues with the Taser Axon Flex cameras. “Upload speed is currently our biggest issue,” it says. “Network updates are being made to various locations throughout the department to help with this issue.” It also says, “We are doing this test phase to work out any of the kinks and workflow issues before these cameras are given to the masses. This will make the transition as smooth as possible.” -
Lapel Camera Concerns
On April 22, an APD Department memo says the Evidence Unit is concerned “because people are not entering the videos” into Evidence. “Please refer to the "TASER Camera Video OIM Entry" how-to guide under the Tech Services tab to make your entries,” it says.