- 15 hours ago
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:18emergency video all I could see were lights so I pulled up and then got out and that's when I
00:25realized it was a police car if I didn't have the video no one would have believed me the video
00:32footage just won't got them tasers were sold as a way to stop dangerous police encounters without
00:46taking a life it's like getting hit with a lightning bolt up your bum today they're carried by police
00:55officers in every state and territory in Australia but they're being used in situations they were
01:02never intended for do you think your mum was a threat that night she couldn't have been a threat
01:09to anyone if she wanted to 95 years old 43 kilos on a walking train why would they taser a
01:20girl with a
01:21disability at a disability school only one company makes and sells these weapons what if we could make
01:29the bullet obsolete a 32 billion dollar tech giant that's made itself indispensable to police around
01:37the world I would say Axon is a scary company how embedded would you say that Axon is now with
01:44police
01:44they're captured I cannot see a way in which police can separate their reliance Axon says its devices
01:53save lives but when something goes wrong after someone is tasered who really decides what happened
02:00I think I was lobbied I felt like I was being bullied they answer to the church of taser
02:06the other one who maybe I felt like representing had started in Sweden when theyрем they say nothing and
02:22then I had to go with them and ruin their dreams of being bullied I guess so well I was
02:22sort of woo tough but I
02:23always forgot my Jules to be honest bro footage of being bullied andgery uh
02:34and some chemical agents have happened well and that is something that has happened to me in Saginaje片
02:36Stephen used to visit this property every day.
02:43All right, so this is the entrance to the farm.
02:47He still can't believe what police did to him here
02:50late one night in 2024 when he was checking the sprinklers.
02:55Normally I reach forward like this when I'm looking around
02:58because it's dark and as I went back
03:00then I noticed the police car in the mirror.
03:02It was a set of lights I noticed
03:04and that's when I got out.
03:10So this is where it happened right here then?
03:13Yeah, yeah, majority of it happened here.
03:33The taser was fired within 30 seconds of Stephen getting out of his car.
03:51He was shocked multiple times and capsicum sprayed.
03:57This is quite a problem.
03:58What the fuck's going on with you?
03:59Easy, easy!
04:00Get down there!
04:01I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!
04:03When you hit with the taser, what did it feel like?
04:07Oh, your chest is...
04:09The heart is just like an equivalent muscle.
04:11It's just doing this.
04:13It's basically like having a heart attack.
04:17Stephen's lawyer Jeremy King says the use of a taser that night
04:21was both excessive and in clear breach of policies
04:25in the Victoria Police manual.
04:29The big point here for you, mate, is CEDs or tasers must not be used
04:35against people offering passive resistance.
04:37You are clearly offering passive resistance.
04:40So on their own rules, on their own manual,
04:42they should never have used the taser only.
04:46Victoria Police told us Stephen was known to them
04:49and officers stopped him because he had his headlights off
04:53and sped away when approached.
04:55Local police reviewed the incident,
04:57finding the actions of its officers was appropriate.
05:02Stephen sued Victoria Police for unlawful arrest and battery.
05:07The case recently settled with police paying him
05:10$250,000 in compensation, plus his legal costs.
05:16The fact that no charges were laid against him is extremely telling.
05:20Is it not arguable that this is just a case of one officer
05:25maybe making a poor decision in that moment
05:29rather than something more systemic?
05:32I've heard that one before,
05:33and unfortunately, my firm has seen many different examples
05:37where tasers have been used inappropriately.
05:41Police manuals in every state and territory
05:45set out guidelines on taser use.
05:49In Queensland, officers are warned
05:51multiple taserings have been linked to deaths.
05:55New South Wales police are told not to taser certain people,
05:59including the elderly and children,
06:02except in exceptional circumstances.
06:08New South Wales is the only state that transparently reports its taser use.
06:14The data shows incidents involving taserings
06:18have almost doubled in the last five years.
06:22How do you respond to criticisms
06:25that tasers are just being overused by police
06:29and not in circumstances that are warranted?
06:31Look, I think for any criticism to be levelled,
06:36it needs to be done on the basis of the circumstances
06:38that exist in an individual situation.
06:41That can be very difficult to do
06:43when you look at bulk statistical data.
06:46To be clear,
06:47why do you think tasers are being drawn more often then?
06:51There are more tasers being used across the state by police more generally.
06:55It is a tactical option.
06:58Often, you know,
06:59it is a situation that police are confronted by.
07:01Angry, argumentative people may be violent
07:04and they do it to protect life, essentially.
07:06Should it ever be used just purely for compliance?
07:10It's not a compliance tool.
07:22In the past two decades,
07:2418 people in Australia have died
07:27following a police incident involving tasers.
07:31There were six deaths in the past five years alone.
07:34One of those was 95-year-old Claire Nowland.
07:39She was agitated.
07:41She couldn't comprehend what was the situation.
07:45I mean, she wouldn't know what a taser was.
07:50New South Wales police officer Christian White and his colleague
07:54had arrived at a nursing home to search for the great-grandmother,
07:58who was holding a steak knife and hiding out of sight.
08:04After finding her inside a room, White drew his taser.
08:08It took less than a minute for him to mutter three words,
08:12nah, bugger it,
08:13before he discharged the weapon.
08:17While he's been sacked and convicted of manslaughter,
08:21Claire Nowland's family still has questions
08:23they want New South Wales police to address.
08:27What has the last few years been like for your family?
08:30Oh, it's hard to explain.
08:36Yeah, um...
08:37Yeah, that's all right.
08:39Yeah.
08:39Sorry.
08:42It's been very horrific, I mean,
08:44to go through what we've gotten, you know,
08:46and we still toss and turn to this very day,
08:50asking us, you know,
08:52why did this happen, you know?
08:55There were so many solutions for it to be de-escalated, you know?
09:00How can I help you sort this out?
09:03What's happening here?
09:04New South Wales police officers undergo mandatory taser training every year.
09:10I don't want you to come in.
09:10Let's go!
09:12This is a warning that the taser will be deployed.
09:15I need you to comply with my directions.
09:19Christian White was up to date with his training,
09:22having only completed it a few months before he killed Claire.
09:26The senior officer beside him that night, an acting sergeant,
09:30also gave evidence at the trial
09:32that she agreed the tasering was justified.
09:36I still can't understand why either of them would think
09:40that their actions were appropriate, you know?
09:43It was a gutless action.
09:46An inhumane action.
09:48Turn around, do that now.
09:49After Claire's death,
09:51New South Wales police reviewed its taser policy
09:54but found it wasn't necessary to make any changes,
09:58a matter which will likely be considered at an upcoming inquest.
10:03Obviously, because Mrs Nolan's matter
10:05will be before the coroner very shortly
10:07and it's therefore not appropriate that we comment on that.
10:10Do you feel confident that there are no gaps in the training
10:14that you're offering officers?
10:15Look, I believe the training is first class.
10:18The training certainly reflects what the policy and legislation is
10:21and I'm quite confident in the training that we deliver.
10:29Police use of tasers is under scrutiny in other states too.
10:37It was here in North Queensland
10:39that a particularly disturbing taser incident took place
10:43involving a schoolgirl with a disability
10:46who police were trying to interview
10:48as a potential victim of sexual assault.
11:01This is T. Joanna MacLennan.
11:04She lives with an intellectual disability,
11:07cerebral palsy, epilepsy, visual impairment
11:10and paralysis of her right hand.
11:14She likes to spend time at her local library.
11:17Let me talk you through what we're going to do.
11:20I'm a bit nervous.
11:21Yeah.
11:22That's all right.
11:23At the time T. Joanna was tasered,
11:25she was 16 years old
11:27and described as having the intellectual capacity
11:30of a year one or two student.
11:33Today, she's determined to explain
11:35the impact it's had on her.
11:39Mmm, it's tasered.
11:44It's like...
11:45I feel like I'm going to cry too much.
11:49T. Joanna has experienced increased seizures
11:52since she was tasered.
11:54I can't wait.
11:55They're done to him.
11:57I have to wait pull-ups to go to him
11:59and I can't go to the toilet.
12:02You know...
12:05It's enough.
12:10Don't...
12:10I appreciate you being brave and talking to us.
12:17Yeah.
12:25For six years now,
12:27her family's been trying to hold Queensland police accountable.
12:30It was February 2020
12:32when two officers investigating allegations
12:35T. Joanna had been abused
12:36arrived at her school to interview her.
12:39Her mum, Robin, says she instantly felt overwhelmed.
12:47They went up there to ask her questions
12:50and she didn't want to answer them.
12:52She told them she didn't want to talk to them.
12:54That's what set her off.
13:01Outside, T. Joanna picked up a plastic cricket bat
13:04and was hitting things
13:05before staff started calming her down.
13:12So it was when T. Joanna went into a room
13:15and tried to close the door behind her
13:17that police drew the taser.
13:19The officer apparently said
13:21that he feared she was going to pick up a knife or something.
13:24That's when she was tasered.
13:31What went through your head
13:33when you heard that,
13:34that your daughter had been tasered?
13:36I was...
13:37I mean, I got really upset
13:39because I was thinking,
13:39why would they taser a girl with a disability
13:42at a disability school?
13:46T. Joanna's family has sued Queensland police.
13:49They didn't respond to our questions.
13:54The incidents we've investigated
13:56raise issues over whether police
13:59are becoming too reliant on tasers.
14:12The more tools that police have,
14:14the less they rely on good old-fashioned policing skills
14:19like using your voice,
14:22like negotiation,
14:24and tasers simply put the emphasis on coercion so much
14:28that it degrades good quality policing.
14:34Criminologist Dr. Emma Ryan
14:35has spent her career researching tasers,
14:38which were first introduced to Australia
14:40more than 20 years ago,
14:42mostly as a way to stop police shootings.
14:46Firearms deaths have not decreased
14:48since tasers have been introduced.
14:51Mission creep is what I have observed occurring.
14:56So if a police officer pulled a firearm out
14:59in a lot of the cases that we see around tasers,
15:03we'd have a very...
15:05We'd be living in the Wild West, basically.
15:10Get on the road!
15:12Get on the ground!
15:15Stop! Where you are!
15:18Taser, taser, taser!
15:23The market for conducted energy weapons
15:26is dominated by just one company.
15:30It's a $32 billion tech giant
15:33whose CEO takes home a bigger pay packet
15:37than the boss of Apple.
15:39I believe we're approaching the end of war
15:42and the end of killing
15:44as an acceptable aspect of human society.
15:47I think a world without the taser weapon
15:50is one that is far more dangerous
15:52than the one we live in.
15:58I'll just show you here.
15:59Oh, you've got an old one here?
16:01Or is this a model?
16:01It's a demo.
16:01Oh, yeah.
16:02Oh, it's like a laser?
16:04Yeah, yeah.
16:04The company captured the Australian market
16:07through a retired special operations cop from Melbourne.
16:11And you might say to someone, you know,
16:13that's aware of what they're doing,
16:15just say, have a look at your chest.
16:17If that was a real...
16:18Meet George Hately.
16:20Yeah.
16:20You say, I'm going to put 50,000 volts in.
16:23In George, the company found a fearless ally
16:27and the ultimate salesman.
16:30We're in the count of three.
16:32Whoa!
16:33Ah!
16:34Ah!
16:35Ah!
16:36Ah!
16:37Ah!
16:38Whoo!
16:39I was the most knowledgeable person in the country about taser.
16:46And you've been tasered yourself.
16:48Tell me about that.
16:4913 times.
16:5013 times.
16:51Not counting.
16:52Well, you clearly are counting.
16:54Yeah, you don't...
16:55You can remember every one of them,
16:57but it's quite painful.
17:00Ah!
17:00Ah!
17:02Yeah, because be real with me.
17:03What does it really feel like?
17:04I've obviously never been tasered.
17:06What's the sensation?
17:07Well, to the police, in a room full of police,
17:10I said it's like getting hit with a lightning bolt up your bum.
17:14It's just, you know, just frightening pain
17:17and severe shock of, you know, something like that.
17:21And that's what you want for pain compliancy, for sure.
17:24A deterrent, and the message goes through the community,
17:27the criminal community, that, hey, don't muck around.
17:30If they say we're going to taser you, give up.
17:33Put your hands up.
17:35Please welcome CEO and founder of Axon, Rick Smith.
17:43George's unrelenting passion for taser
17:45is nothing compared to Axon's leader.
17:50Thank you, everybody.
17:51Rick Smith is a zealot.
17:53He is a taser zealot.
17:56Zero in on a target.
17:57Take off the safety.
18:01Fire.
18:04Heavens.
18:06Rick Smith took an invention from the 1970s
18:10that never took off
18:14and revolutionised the technology.
18:17Turn the taser on.
18:19Taser off.
18:20Part of how they did that
18:22is by raising the level of electrical discharge
18:25that comes out of the taser.
18:28That created new risks to human life.
18:31Initially, the success was quite good.
18:33A lot of people flocking to buy shares.
18:35But then cases started to hit the courts.
18:40Tonight, police in the town of Clay
18:41are trying to figure out why a man died
18:44after being tasered by one of their officers.
18:46A Polish immigrant was announced dead
18:48after RCMP officers tasered him
18:50at the Vancouver airport last month.
18:53People were freaking out.
18:54Politicians.
18:55It was out of control.
18:57Don't tase me, bro!
18:59Don't tase me!
19:08In the United States,
19:10lawsuits over taser-related deaths
19:13kept mounting.
19:15This posed an existential threat to the company
19:17because if they got into the habit
19:20of losing these cases,
19:21it would very quickly eat up
19:24their entire profit margin.
19:26The company set up
19:28what research scientist Justin Feldman
19:30describes as a product defence strategy
19:33to counter litigation
19:35and negative publicity.
19:37The crux of that strategy
19:39would be to bring together
19:41medical experts in various fields
19:44and fund them to do studies
19:49showing their product to be favourable
19:51and who would testify in court
19:53that tasers did not kill people.
19:58Axon's extensive network of experts
20:01included emergency doctors,
20:03a neuroscientist
20:04and biomedical engineers.
20:07Some of them owned shares in the company
20:10or sat on the board,
20:11all the while publishing studies
20:13and telling police tasers were safe.
20:16We can see over the years
20:18taser jealously guarding
20:21the reputation of its product
20:24to the point where
20:26they would even sue
20:27forensic pathologists
20:28who would dare to link
20:30taser to a death.
20:32That really happened?
20:34Yes.
20:42Very few scientists
20:43have publicly disputed
20:45Axon's safety claims.
20:51As a young doctor,
20:53cardiologist Zian Seng
20:55was quoted in the media
20:56warning that tasers
20:58could stop the heart
20:59if deployed directly to the chest.
21:02Unbeknownst to me,
21:03I was really,
21:04I think the first cardiologist
21:06to say such a connection could occur.
21:08Taser contacted me immediately
21:10and asked if they could
21:12have a conversation with me.
21:13Did I really think it's lethal?
21:15You know,
21:17would you reconsider your statements?
21:19And that escalated actually
21:21to the point where
21:22they offered,
21:23you know,
21:24me to visit their company
21:25and offered me grant money actually.
21:28He turned down their offer
21:30and instead did his own
21:32independent research
21:33on sudden deaths
21:34in police custody
21:35before and after
21:37tasers were introduced.
21:38And what we found
21:40surprised us
21:41that in the first year
21:42after taser deployment
21:43there was a six-fold increase
21:45in sudden deaths.
21:46They really didn't like that study
21:48and they went to the lengths
21:50of taking us to federal court
21:52to try to compel the release
21:54of all of our research documents
21:55to attack our study.
21:57And thankfully,
21:57a judge refused that order.
22:0116 years later,
22:02I've not seen any study
22:03that has refuted our study results.
22:06Yeah.
22:08That same year,
22:09the company did make a concession,
22:12issuing a warning to police
22:13that repeated taserings
22:15and chest hits
22:16should be minimised
22:17to avoid controversy
22:19about whether tasers
22:20affect the human heart.
22:23Police customers
22:25were so concerned
22:26that CEO Rick Smith
22:28held a conference call
22:29to reassure them.
22:31I want to start
22:32by addressing
22:33a couple of the questions
22:34we've been receiving
22:34over email.
22:36The first one is,
22:37are chest hits
22:38with the taser dangerous?
22:40And the answer to that
22:42is definitively no.
22:44But the real,
22:45sort of,
22:45biggest reason here
22:46in my mind
22:47is risk management
22:48and avoiding the controversy.
22:52They weren't really
22:53conceding lethality.
22:54They were saying,
22:55you know,
22:55do that to avoid lawsuits.
23:04For decades now,
23:07Axon has actively
23:08tried to shape
23:09the science,
23:10evidence
23:10and legal outcomes
23:12around its signature device.
23:15At the centre
23:16of its strategy
23:17is a controversial
23:18diagnosis
23:19known as
23:21excited delirium.
23:24The term
23:25excited delirium
23:27first rose
23:28to prominence
23:28here in Miami
23:30during the 1980s
23:31when the city
23:32was in the midst
23:33of the cocaine boom.
23:37Excited delirium
23:38is a theory
23:39about how people die
23:41in police custody.
23:42It starts
23:43with a true reality,
23:45which is that
23:46there are people
23:47in the world
23:48who are in states
23:49of acute mental health crisis.
23:52Often that involves
23:53drugs like cocaine.
23:55Sometimes these individuals
23:57act aggressively.
23:58Often these individuals
23:59have high body temperature.
24:01The leap that they make
24:02is to go from
24:03those genuine symptoms
24:05to saying that
24:06those were
24:07the cause of death.
24:09Excited delirium
24:11has been rejected
24:12by medical
24:13and psychiatry groups.
24:15The World Health Organization
24:17has never recognised it.
24:19Yet the company
24:20has pushed it
24:21as the cause of death
24:22in taser incidents.
24:24And they really developed
24:25a rapid response plan
24:27that would follow
24:28any news story
24:30of a death
24:30related to tasers
24:31where they would intervene.
24:41Exactly how
24:42the company did this
24:43was laid bare
24:44in the death investigation
24:46of Israel Hernandez-Loch,
24:48a young Miami
24:49graffiti artist
24:50known as Reefer.
24:54Hey, Felix.
24:55How are you?
24:56I'm Grace.
24:56Nice to meet you.
24:57Nice to meet you too.
24:58Felix Fernandez
24:59witnessed the moment
25:00police tasered his friend
25:02after they caught him
25:03spray painting
25:04an abandoned building.
25:06And he runs
25:07straight towards a bank
25:08and he gets tased.
25:11And he was just
25:12face down on the floor
25:13in the dirt
25:14not moving
25:15and they were like
25:18there's nothing
25:19to tell you.
25:20Your friend is dead.
25:23Within four hours
25:25of the taser
25:26being deployed
25:26the company
25:27injected itself
25:28into the death
25:29investigation.
25:31In an email
25:32to Miami police
25:33marked confidential
25:34taser executives
25:36provided urgent
25:37instructions
25:38ahead of the autopsy.
25:43Law enforcement
25:45is given
25:46an excited delirium
25:47checklist
25:48where they can
25:49check off
25:50different kinds
25:51of signs and symptoms
25:52that they attribute
25:53to this condition.
25:56The company
25:57pushed for brain tissues
25:58to be sent
25:59ASAP
26:00to the University
26:01of Miami's
26:03Brain Endowment Bank
26:04to look for
26:05excited delirium
26:06markers.
26:07It didn't mention
26:08the lead researcher
26:10there at the time
26:11was its paid
26:12expert witness
26:13in multiple lawsuits.
26:19Despite
26:19taser's efforts
26:20the medical examiner
26:22found the death
26:22was heart failure
26:23due to the taser
26:25discharge.
26:26But the company
26:27was never found
26:28liable.
26:30Across the US
26:32excited delirium
26:33has been linked
26:34to 276 deaths
26:37following taser use.
26:43Death investigations
26:44are supposed
26:45to be neutral
26:46medical and scientific
26:47processes.
26:49And when a corporation
26:50inserts itself
26:51into the process
26:52and tries to sway things
26:53that there are
26:54serious conflicts
26:55of interest involved.
27:02You might be thinking
27:03at this point
27:04well that wouldn't
27:04happen in Australia
27:05where our coronial
27:07system that
27:08investigates deaths
27:09is just too robust.
27:10But that's not
27:11what our investigation
27:12has found.
27:15It has happened.
27:17I've been
27:18contacted by
27:19the organisation.
27:20I did an autopsy
27:22on a person
27:22who had died
27:23in custody.
27:26A taser
27:27had been used.
27:28and I was contacted
27:30and all of these
27:31were provided by
27:32Professor Johan de Flew
27:33is a senior
27:34forensic pathologist
27:36who's investigated
27:37and given testimony
27:38in taser-related deaths.
27:40So we've got here
27:42the document
27:43the excited delirium
27:44checklist.
27:45Axon once targeted
27:47him with its
27:48taser defence strategy.
27:50So all of these
27:51documents here
27:52were sent to you
27:53in an email
27:54from Axon?
27:55Yeah, that's my
27:55recollection.
27:56So this is
27:58what you should do
27:59including obtaining
28:01the various samples
28:02etc, etc
28:03including
28:05contacting the
28:06University of Miami
28:06Brain Endowment Bank.
28:08Did you feel
28:09at all pressured
28:10to follow some
28:11of their advice
28:12or instructions?
28:16Um
28:18I think I was
28:19lobbied.
28:20Not necessarily
28:21pressured.
28:25Was the
28:25lobbying successful?
28:27Well in the end
28:28no, was it?
28:30I don't think
28:32it influenced me.
28:50We've found
28:51Axon's
28:51key defence
28:52excited delirium
28:54has found
28:54traction
28:55in other cases
28:56here.
28:57It's been
28:58a long time
28:59but
28:59I think
29:00of him
29:00a lot.
29:03These people
29:04this
29:05Church of
29:06Taser
29:06pushed
29:07for
29:08excited
29:08delirium
29:09to coincide
29:10at the same
29:10time as
29:11their
29:11weapon
29:12discharge.
29:15The death
29:16of Antonio
29:17Galliano
29:18is one of
29:19Australia's
29:19most
29:20controversial
29:21Taser
29:21incidents.
29:26He died
29:28in June
29:282009
29:29as police
29:30restrained
29:31him
29:31during a
29:32violent
29:32drug-induced
29:33mental health
29:34episode
29:35at his
29:35friend's
29:36home.
29:38It's
29:39controversial
29:39because of
29:40the 28
29:40firings.
29:41That's
29:42why.
29:44His
29:45sister
29:45Giovanna
29:46now
29:46realises
29:47the full
29:48extent of
29:48Axon's
29:49involvement
29:49in the
29:50investigation
29:51and inquest.
29:53Do you feel
29:54like you
29:54got the
29:55truth?
29:56No.
29:56No.
29:57It was
29:58anything but
29:58the truth.
30:02Right from
30:03the start,
30:03the company's
30:04representatives
30:05were in
30:05contact with
30:06police
30:06investigating
30:07the death.
30:10Yeah,
30:10I got a
30:11phone call
30:11the next
30:12morning from
30:12the homicide
30:13squad up
30:14in Queensland
30:14and said,
30:15George,
30:16this guy's
30:16been tasered
30:17and we
30:18need to
30:18talk to
30:19you.
30:19And after
30:20the brief
30:20discussion,
30:21I said,
30:22taser didn't
30:23kill him.
30:24And they
30:24said,
30:24how can
30:24you be
30:25so certain?
30:25I said,
30:26I am
30:26100%
30:26certain.
30:28What did
30:29make you
30:30so confident?
30:32I'd been to
30:33America quite a
30:34few times,
30:34sat down
30:35with these
30:35doctors and
30:37said,
30:37tell me,
30:38guys,
30:38I need to
30:38know,
30:39does this
30:39thing kill?
30:40What happens
30:41in this
30:41scenario?
30:42What happens
30:42if they've
30:42got a
30:43pacemaker?
30:43What happens
30:44if they're
30:44feeble?
30:45What happens
30:45if they're
30:46whatever,
30:46heart attacks?
30:48And they said,
30:48George,
30:48it doesn't
30:49affect the
30:49heart.
30:50And so you
30:50were convinced
30:52by these
30:52doctors and
30:53researchers at
30:54TASER International?
30:54By facts and
30:55evidence.
30:58We've examined
30:59the coronial
31:00files and
31:01discovered
31:01TASER's own
31:02experts and
31:03their research
31:04feature heavily
31:05in this
31:05case,
31:06including
31:06references
31:07in the
31:07pathologist's
31:08autopsy
31:09findings.
31:10He found
31:11that my
31:12brother died
31:13of
31:15excited
31:16delirium.
31:16That was
31:17the first
31:17time I'd
31:18ever heard
31:18of it.
31:19Inquest
31:20documents show
31:21the pathologist
31:22conceded he
31:23had minimal
31:24experience of
31:25excited
31:26delirium but
31:27read up on
31:28the experiences
31:29of American
31:30experts and
31:31literature to
31:32make his
31:32findings.
31:33We've found
31:34he relied on
31:35a report of
31:36a TASER
31:36board member
31:37and also
31:38referred to
31:39the excited
31:39delirium
31:40checklist.
31:42TASER's got
31:43their fingers
31:43in it at
31:44every turn
31:45so it
31:46becomes almost
31:46impossible to
31:49you know
31:50disaggregate the
31:51truth from the
31:52propaganda.
31:55Lawyers for
31:56the company,
31:57Queensland police
31:58and the officer
31:59who fired the
32:00device brought
32:01in four
32:01American experts
32:03who were part
32:03of TASER's
32:04network to
32:05testify on
32:06the cause
32:07of death.
32:08Three of
32:08them blamed
32:09excited
32:10delirium.
32:11They used
32:12excited
32:13delirium.
32:14They used
32:15the idea
32:16that he
32:16would have
32:16died anyway
32:17whether the
32:18TASER had
32:19been used
32:20or not.
32:20Why would
32:21they do
32:22that?
32:22Why put
32:23so much
32:23effort into
32:24convincing
32:25everyone that
32:25this excited
32:26delirium
32:27condition exists?
32:28Look,
32:28you use the
32:29word convincing,
32:29it's more
32:30informing.
32:31It's a
32:31coroner
32:31that's
32:32that makes
32:34that final
32:34decision.
32:37The
32:37coroner
32:38delivered her
32:38findings in
32:39November 2012.
32:41The cause
32:42of death
32:43was found
32:44to be
32:44excited
32:44delirium
32:45and the
32:46TASER
32:47use was
32:48only very
32:50peripherally
32:50implicated.
32:52The findings
32:52were
32:55very hard
32:56to accept.
32:57Because even
32:58at the time
32:58of your
32:58brother's
32:59death,
32:59you're saying
33:00that excited
33:00delirium
33:01was surrounded
33:01in controversy.
33:02Yes,
33:03it was.
33:03And it
33:04still is
33:04today.
33:05Well,
33:05it's
33:06debunked.
33:06It's not
33:08acknowledged
33:09as a
33:09condition.
33:12The findings
33:13are even
33:14more striking
33:15when compared
33:15with an
33:16inquest being
33:17held at
33:17the same
33:18time over
33:19the border
33:19in New
33:19South
33:20Wales,
33:20the death
33:21of Roberto
33:22Curti.
33:23Chased
33:24by up to
33:2411 police,
33:26Mr Curti
33:26was eventually
33:27brought down
33:28by a
33:28TASER
33:29and
33:29handcuffed
33:30but the
33:31tasering
33:31continued
33:32along with
33:33capsicum
33:33spray.
33:35It's
33:36impossible
33:36to believe
33:37that he
33:37would have
33:38died
33:38but for
33:39the actions
33:40of police.
33:42I've never
33:43forgotten that
33:44and I'm
33:45sorry to say
33:46that there
33:47was some
33:47appalling
33:48behaviour
33:48from police.
33:50At the time
33:51called it
33:51like behaviour
33:52from Lord
33:53of the
33:53flies.
33:55As
33:56state
33:56coroner,
33:57Mary
33:57Jerram
33:57ended up
33:58making an
33:59open
33:59finding.
34:00But much
34:01like in
34:01Queensland,
34:02an expert
34:03witness on
34:04TASER's
34:04payroll had
34:06argued
34:06excited
34:07delirium
34:07killed him.
34:10What did
34:10you make
34:11of that
34:11evidence?
34:12Not much.
34:13Why was
34:14that?
34:15Well,
34:16well,
34:16I think he
34:16had a
34:17bias,
34:17an obvious
34:18bias.
34:18It makes
34:19a mockery
34:21really of
34:22expertise if
34:24you're just
34:24appearing for
34:26a company
34:27that pays
34:27you,
34:28not good.
34:30The Axon
34:32ecosystem is
34:32the global
34:33operating system
34:34for public
34:34safety.
34:35Axon doesn't
34:36just sell
34:37TASER's
34:37anymore.
34:38Equip your
34:39officers with
34:39industry-leading
34:40smart devices
34:41to affect...
34:42It has an
34:42ever-expanding
34:43list of
34:44interconnected
34:45products that
34:46include body
34:46cameras,
34:47evidence
34:48software,
34:49AI tools
34:50and drones.
34:50The company
34:52is making
34:53itself
34:53indispensable
34:54to police
34:55at a furious
34:57pace.
34:57Join 18,000
34:59agencies across
35:00the world
35:00that trust the
35:01Axon ecosystem
35:02to help them
35:03protect more
35:03lives in more
35:04places.
35:11Australian
35:12police are
35:12big customers.
35:14We've found
35:15more than
35:15$300 million
35:16in Axon
35:18contracts for
35:18body-worn
35:19cameras,
35:20TASERs and
35:21other products.
35:22Victoria is
35:24rolling out
35:2410,000 TASER
35:267s to
35:26frontline police
35:27and Queensland
35:29has recently
35:29signed a
35:30$47 million
35:32contract for
35:33more than
35:346,000 TASER
35:3510s.
35:40But the
35:41rapid adoption
35:42of Axon's
35:43new technology
35:44could have
35:45unintended
35:46consequences
35:47for frontline
35:48police.
35:51We've been
35:52contacted by
35:53a hacker
35:54who's discovered
35:55a major
35:55vulnerability
35:56in Bluetooth
35:57technology
35:58in Axon
35:59devices
36:00that he says
36:01is putting
36:01police lives
36:02at risk.
36:09He's worried
36:10about
36:10retaliation
36:11from Axon.
36:13Hello.
36:14How are you?
36:15I'm Grace.
36:16Nice to meet you.
36:16Nice to meet you
36:17too.
36:18And is asked
36:19that we don't
36:20use his name
36:21or show his
36:22face.
36:23What is it
36:24that you've
36:24discovered?
36:26Pretty much
36:27that you can
36:28track police
36:29devices via
36:31Bluetooth
36:31low energy
36:32from quite
36:34a significant
36:34distance away.
36:35Things like
36:36body-worn
36:36cameras,
36:37tasers.
36:39He shows
36:40us how
36:41he built
36:41his own
36:42proof-of-concept
36:43software
36:43and how
36:45it could
36:45be scaled
36:46up and
36:47weaponised
36:47by criminals.
36:49It could be
36:50used for
36:51ambushing
36:51the police,
36:52attacking
36:53them,
36:54escaping
36:54them,
36:55organised
36:55criminal
36:56gangs or
36:56whatever.
36:58He explains
36:59to us
36:59that every
37:00device that
37:01uses Bluetooth
37:01has its own
37:02digital footprint,
37:04a 12-digit
37:05code that's
37:06called a
37:06MAC address.
37:07Most mobile
37:09devices like
37:10Apple iPhones
37:11have inbuilt
37:12privacy features
37:13making them
37:14harder to
37:14track.
37:15When he realised
37:16Axon's devices
37:17were detectable,
37:19he emailed
37:20police.
37:21I'm trying to
37:22raise a
37:23potentially serious
37:24cyber security
37:24issue with
37:25police.
37:26I've created
37:26software that can
37:27detect the
37:28presence of
37:28police officers
37:29from 400 metres
37:30away using a
37:30laptop or a
37:31phone.
37:33The Axon
37:34brand tasers
37:35need to be
37:35recalled.
37:36They leave the
37:37entire force
37:38essentially wearing
37:38beacons that
37:39broadcast their
37:39location.
37:41And what
37:42came of those
37:42emails?
37:43I got nothing
37:44but radio
37:45silence.
37:46So no police
37:48agency in
37:48Australia has
37:49ever written
37:49back to you
37:49about it?
37:50No.
37:55All right,
37:56thanks for
37:56having us.
37:57So today's
37:58talk is snoop
37:59onto them as
37:59they snoop
37:59onto you.
38:00Details about
38:01the security
38:02floor are being
38:03shared online.
38:04There are even
38:05tutorials.
38:06The boys in
38:06blue are
38:07actually the
38:07boys in
38:07BLE.
38:09Last year,
38:10US border
38:10agents were
38:11told to stop
38:12using their
38:12body cameras
38:13in the field
38:14due to the
38:15potential security
38:16risks.
38:18This is like
38:19quite an open
38:20secret, basically.
38:24There are
38:25already police
38:26tracking apps
38:27available publicly.
38:28The hacker
38:29downloads one to
38:30show us how it
38:31works.
38:32So the app will
38:33start alerting us
38:34to the fact that
38:35a police officer
38:35is nearby.
38:36Yeah, it'll
38:37start alarming.
38:38You get a
38:38notification and
38:39it'll probably
38:39start beeping.
38:40We pull up
38:41outside a police
38:42station in
38:43Melbourne's inner
38:44suburbs and
38:45wait.
38:48Taser
38:48detected.
38:50Axon
38:50taser
38:51detected.
38:52There's a
38:53net car
38:53right there.
38:54Oh, yeah,
38:55there's a
38:55couple of
38:55police officers
38:56walking out
38:57right now and
38:58it's just
38:58buzzed.
38:59Cars pulling
39:00in, so
39:00picking up
39:01quite a few.
39:01Another one
39:02there.
39:04Got one,
39:05two,
39:05three,
39:06four,
39:07five,
39:08six,
39:08seven,
39:10eight,
39:10nine,
39:11ten,
39:12ten tasers
39:13that were
39:13picked up
39:14the last
39:14couple of
39:14minutes.
39:16Our
39:17investigations
39:18discovered
39:18Victoria Police
39:20did receive
39:21the hacker's
39:21email back
39:22in 2024.
39:24The issue
39:25was assessed
39:25internally,
39:26with the
39:27risk found
39:28to be
39:28very real,
39:30especially
39:30for officers
39:31undercover,
39:33in tactical
39:33units,
39:34or who take
39:35their Axon
39:36devices home.
39:37We know
39:38police executives
39:39were told to
39:40act, but
39:41dismissed the
39:42advice.
39:44Victoria Police
39:45refused to
39:46confirm whether
39:47its officers
39:47have ever
39:48been directly
39:49told they
39:50can be
39:50tracked while
39:51wearing their
39:52Axon tasers
39:53and cameras.
39:54A spokesperson
39:55said it
39:56hasn't had
39:57any issues
39:58with unauthorised
39:59tracking of
39:59tasers or
40:00body-worn
40:01cameras over
40:02Bluetooth,
40:03and that it
40:04had gone to
40:04Axon for
40:06security advice.
40:09Four Corners
40:10went to all
40:11policing agencies
40:12about the
40:13floor, but
40:13they refused
40:14to confirm
40:14if any
40:15steps had
40:16been taken
40:16to protect
40:17the safety
40:18of their
40:19officers.
40:21Why wouldn't
40:22Axon just
40:23fix it?
40:24You would
40:25need to
40:26design a
40:27brand new
40:27device and
40:28basically replace
40:29probably most
40:30of their
40:30products with
40:31newly designed
40:32products that
40:32actually meet
40:33the specifications
40:34of Bluetooth.
40:36Buried within
40:37its website,
40:38Axon itself
40:39acknowledges the
40:40vulnerability to
40:41its Bluetooth
40:42products, warning
40:43operational security
40:45considerations should
40:46be made where
40:48detection may result
40:49in unintended
40:51outcomes.
40:53How embedded
40:55would you say
40:55that Axon is now
40:57with police?
40:58Oh, hugely.
40:59They're captured.
41:00There is...
41:01I cannot see a way
41:03in which police
41:04can separate
41:06their reliance.
41:10She's really
41:11known as
41:12Caring Claire
41:13and she brought
41:14up eight
41:14children on
41:15her own
41:16and always
41:17had a concern
41:18about other
41:18people.
41:19I mean, you
41:20know, she was
41:21our mum.
41:21I mean, she was
41:22the...
41:30I mean, she was
41:31the best mum
41:32in the world
41:32and, you know,
41:33like, she was
41:35there for us
41:35every, every
41:36day.
41:39So, uh...
41:41TASERS were
41:42meant to be
41:43a safer way
41:43for police to
41:44stop dangerous
41:45situations
41:46without taking
41:47a life.
41:49But after
41:50more than
41:50two decades
41:51of use in
41:52Australia,
41:53people are
41:53still dying.
41:55And others
41:56are seriously
41:57affected when
41:58TASERS are used
41:59in situations
42:00they were
42:01never intended
42:02for.
42:06In Australia,
42:07not a single
42:08death has
42:09ever been
42:10solely attributed
42:11to the use
42:12of a TASER.
42:13But our
42:14examination
42:14of 18
42:15deaths shows
42:16the role
42:17of the
42:17device is
42:18often contested
42:19and not
42:20clearly understood.
42:22I'm the
42:22first to admit
42:23TASER weapons
42:24aren't perfect,
42:25but TASER 10
42:26is a hell
42:26of a step
42:27towards making
42:28TASER energy
42:28weapons the
42:29most reliable
42:30and effective
42:30force option
42:31in the world.
42:33Axon
42:33maintains
42:34its signature
42:35product
42:36saves lives
42:37and that
42:37its research
42:38supports that.
42:40But how
42:41that science
42:41is shaped
42:42and the
42:43company's
42:43influence
42:44during police
42:45investigations
42:46is far
42:47from transparent.
42:50TASER
42:51is the
42:51most researched
42:52weapon
42:53in history.
42:55But research
42:56by the company,
42:57I suppose.
42:57No, by the
42:57media, by everyone.
42:59Most analysed,
43:00researched,
43:01and TASER
43:01are very focused
43:03on making sure
43:04decision makers
43:06get all the
43:06information.
43:07For Claire
43:08Nowland's family,
43:09their hopeful
43:10and upcoming
43:11inquest may
43:12address key
43:13issues about
43:14TASER policies
43:15and training.
43:17Do you feel
43:18like you still
43:19want some kind
43:20of reassurance
43:21from New South
43:21Wales Police
43:22that this was
43:23a one-off
43:24cop, that this
43:25isn't going to
43:25happen with
43:26other officers
43:26as well?
43:27I mean, the
43:28only way
43:28that's going
43:29to happen
43:29is if they,
43:31number one,
43:32better training
43:33and number two,
43:34change something
43:35in the policy.
43:37I'm sure
43:38that they have
43:38some really
43:39pressure situations.
43:40They have to
43:41make that decision
43:43instantly, you know?
43:44This is completely
43:45different where,
43:46you know,
43:47there was no-one's
43:48life under threat
43:50at all, you know,
43:51and it still
43:52happened.
43:52.
43:53.
43:56.
43:57.
44:23Transcription by CastingWords
Comments