Fronteras

Buy it now, spread out your payments over a few years -- that sounds like an offer that comes along with a mattress or a car. But what about a weapon that’ll zap you full of electricity? KJZZ’s Nick Blumberg reports on a plan to help law enforcement replace old equipment. 

A rendering of the TASER X2 firing. (Photo courtesy TASER International)

Phoenix police have picked up something new to carry on their belt: the TASER X2. A promotional video touts the weapon's "immediate back-up shot: high performance and more effective."

Phoenix PD bought 2,300 of those X2s using the new TASER Protection Plan, which lets police agencies buy new equipment and make five annual payments on it.

“It meets our needs to be able to work out a payment plan," said Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson. "And I think it serves the city because rather than having a lump sum come out, it allows us to budget our needs.”

TASER says the X2 model and the necessary accessories cost about $1,200 each, putting an estimate of the Phoenix PD contract around $2.8 million.

Many cash-strapped police departments can’t easily get their hands on that much money, said Steve Tuttle of TASER.

“We thought since we’re in challenging times, let’s come up with some new ways of providing security for the city council members, county supervisors, and state officials to budget for TASER issues," Tuttle said."

Tuttle says the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and agencies in four other states have also picked up new TASER equipment using the five-year payment plan.