Ludlow could be bringing Tasers back to the police department for the first time since 2006.
The city’s proposed 2026-2027 fiscal year budget includes an investment of $36,400 annually in Axon public-safety technology, which includes 11 body-worn cameras, 10 Tasers, two interview-room camera systems, evidence-management software, training systems and more.
City officials said the package is intended to improve officer accountability, streamline evidence handling and modernize the department’s investigative capabilities.
In addition to the Axon system, the budget allocates funds for one leased patrol SUV and one e‑bike for community patrols.
Ludlow officers have not carried Tasers in nearly two decades, after the department’s previous instructor let his certification lapse. Police Chief Bart Beck said the absence of an intermediate‑force option has left officers with only pepper spray or a firearm.
“We pretty much carry pepper spray and a gun, so you have the minimal amount of force to the maximum amount of force,” Beck said. “Tasers are your in‑between force.”
Officer Bryan Panko described a recent incident in which a man pulled a knife on officers.
“I’ve used Tasers at every department I’ve worked for except for this one, and I just feel a lot safer,” Panko said. “Last year, we had someone pull a knife on us. I would have liked to have had a Taser then.”
Beck and Panko added that while officers would have been legally justified in using deadly force, they did not want to harm someone experiencing a mental‑health crisis.
Beck first explored the TASER 10, the brand included in the proposal, last August, but the city’s budget had already been finalized. With the Axon contract up for renewal this year, he and Captain Gregory Eastham, whom Beck described as the strongest advocate for the upgrade, opted to include the devices in the FY27 proposal.
Beck praised the improvements in the newer model, noting that the electrical output is more tightly regulated and the dart spread is more controlled than earlier versions. He also highlighted the system’s automatic documentation features.
Beck said officers must complete two types of training to operate the devices: an initial certification followed by annual recertification. He also noted that Tasers can be used by firing probes that pierce clothing and skin to deliver an electric charge that disrupts a person’s neuromuscular system, giving officers a chance to de‑escalate dangerous situations.
He added that the new technology prevents two officers from deploying Tasers on the same individual at once, and that when de‑escalation fails, the TASER 10 model can release up to ten individually targeted probes without requiring a reload.
Beck said that whenever a TASER 10 is deployed, the system automatically uploads and documents the incident in the cloud, making it easier to share information with attorneys and prosecutors.
Axon, formerly known as TASER International, no longer provides legal defense support for its devices, but Beck said the company now includes a $10 million insurance policy with its contracts.
Previously, the department relied on the TASER X26, a model once widely adopted across law enforcement but discontinued by Axon (formerly TASER International) in 2014. The device became known for a range of operational failures as well as significant physiological and medical risks.
The department opted for what Beck described as a more conservative package, declining Axon’s translation‑service add‑on because officers currently use Google Translate.
Council Member Julie Terry Navarre expressed support for the addition. “Tasers are a great idea,” she said.
