WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 All right, welcome back to the Deep Dive. And 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:04.259 for this one, you really sent us a mountain of 00:00:04.259 --> 00:00:06.360 material. Oh, absolutely. We've got articles, 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:10.859 legal filings. We even have product manuals and 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:13.460 some pretty deep financial analyses. And it's 00:00:13.460 --> 00:00:15.919 all aimed at one thing, one mission, really. 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:19.219 Figuring out how a company once known for, well, 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.839 a single, very controversial weapon. Managed 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.160 to pivot and become the, I mean, the indispensable 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.739 dominant supplier of... digital evidence infrastructure 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:31.420 for police all over the world. Yeah. Our mission 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:34.179 today is to really get into the weeds on Axon 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:36.759 Enterprise Inc. Yeah. Because this is a story 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.119 of, I guess you'd call it a strategic metamorphosis. 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:42.100 It is. They went from Taser International. a 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:44.280 name synonymous with electroshock weapons to 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:47.399 this sprawling tech giant that, you know, essentially 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:50.020 manages every piece of digital data from a police 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:52.140 interaction. It's so much more than a name change. 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.159 It's a fundamental shift in the business model. 00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:56.619 We're talking about an American company, Scottsdale, 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.119 Arizona, developing tech for the military, law 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.740 enforcement and civilians. And when you hear 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:04.980 Axon now, you might still think Taser, but that's 00:01:04.980 --> 00:01:06.659 almost like the legacy part of the business. 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:09.319 Their core identity has just been totally eclipsed. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:11.840 It really has. I mean, just. Look at where they 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.439 are today. Exactly. They're an S &P 500 component. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:17.000 They're on NASDAQ. They are a major, major player. 00:01:17.180 --> 00:01:21.060 For 2024, they're reporting, what, U .S. $2 .08 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:24.939 billion in revenue. And they have over 4 ,000 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:27.459 employees. And, yeah, they still have the taser 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:30.959 weapon line. But their future, their entire focus 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:33.060 is that tech segment. It's all about the tech. 00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:35.989 the body -worn cameras, the dash cams, computer 00:01:35.989 --> 00:01:38.609 -aided dispatch software, and the real crown 00:01:38.609 --> 00:01:42.159 jewel, Evidence .com, their cloud platform. And 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:43.879 here's the number, the core insight that really 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:45.700 made us say, OK, we have to do this deep dive. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.500 The financial pivot is just staggering. Back 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:50.659 in 2017, the camera and services segment, that 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:52.000 was about a quarter of their business. Yeah, 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.239 a respectable chunk, but not the main thing. 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:57.700 But fast forward to 2024 and Axon's cloud services 00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:00.540 division, just the cloud services alone, now 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:03.019 accounts for a massive 40 percent of their total 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:05.359 revenue. And that's the whole story right there. 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.199 They successfully engineered this transition 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:12.360 from selling high margin hardware to selling 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.860 even higher margin recurring software subscriptions. 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.669 It's the ultimate SaaS success story. But for 00:02:17.669 --> 00:02:20.129 public safety. Totally. They figured out that 00:02:20.129 --> 00:02:24.009 the real long term value wasn't the little box 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:26.750 on an officer's chest recording video. It was 00:02:26.750 --> 00:02:30.469 the entire ecosystem that stores, manages and 00:02:30.469 --> 00:02:34.250 analyzes all that video. OK, let's unpack this 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:36.090 to really get a handle on the company today. 00:02:36.509 --> 00:02:38.780 We have to start at the very beginning. We have 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:41.139 to look at the, well, the controversial genesis 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.400 of the taser weapon. Right. Then we can dissect 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:45.979 the pivot. Exactly. Then we'll detail the huge 00:02:45.979 --> 00:02:48.099 hardware and software ecosystem they built. And 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:50.379 finally, we've got to grapple with the big legal, 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:53.219 ethical and antitrust controversies. Because, 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:54.960 you know, they always follow a company that gets 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.000 this much control over the official narrative 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.879 of modern policing. OK, let's do it. So part 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:03.000 one, the genesis of the taser weapon. This story 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:04.879 starts a lot earlier than most people think. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.060 It's not a product of the 21st century. The inventor 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:10.960 was a guy named Jack Cover. He was a physicist, 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.520 a NASA researcher. A NASA researcher. Yep. And 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:16.599 he started developing the taser way back in 1969. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:20.080 His goal was actually, you know, pretty lofty. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.080 He wanted to create a true, non -lethal alternative 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.919 to a firearm. A way for law enforcement to control 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.939 a situation without resorting to deadly force. 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:32.599 And the name itself, Taser, it sounds like something 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.300 straight out of science fiction, which, it turns 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:37.639 out, is not far from the truth. It's pure sci 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.740 -fi nostalgia. Cover named it the Tom Swift Electric 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:43.719 Rifle, which was a reference to a 1911 kids novel, 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:46.300 Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle. No way. Yeah. 00:03:46.580 --> 00:03:49.439 So the original acronym was T -S -E -R. He only 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.539 added the A later on just to make it easier to 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:53.699 say Taser. It was a marketing decision. So you've 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:56.319 got this. Weapon of the Future, named after a 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:58.659 pulp adventure story from a century ago. But 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:00.659 it wasn't a runaway success from the start, not 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:02.460 even close. In fact, it was a huge commercial 00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:05.280 failure at first. What was the critical flaw 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.879 in that first design? The first version, which 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:10.219 came out in 1974, was called the Taser Public 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:14.060 Defender. And it had this one seemingly small 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:18.019 detail that was its fatal flaw. It used gunpowder. 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:21.100 Gunpowder was the propellant that fired the little 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:23.589 electrode darts. Oh. I can see where this is 00:04:23.589 --> 00:04:26.189 going. Exactly. It had massive legal consequences. 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:29.810 In 1976, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and 00:04:29.810 --> 00:04:33.509 Firearms, the BATF, they classified any device 00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:36.550 using gunpowder as a propellant, as a firearm. 00:04:36.709 --> 00:04:39.089 Which just kills it. That immediately slaps all 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:41.110 these huge regulations on it, makes it impossible 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:43.750 to market as... You know, a simple self -defense 00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:46.730 tool or a standard issue police item. It completely 00:04:46.730 --> 00:04:49.089 kneecapped distribution. And despite that, it 00:04:49.089 --> 00:04:51.629 did get a little bit of early traction. The LAPD, 00:04:51.629 --> 00:04:53.670 they were dealing with the fallout from the EULA 00:04:53.670 --> 00:04:55.790 love shooting in 79, and they did a successful 00:04:55.790 --> 00:04:59.189 field test of an improved Taser in 1980. They 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:02.029 saw the potential. But even with a police endorsement, 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:03.649 the company just couldn't make it work commercially. 00:05:03.889 --> 00:05:07.230 No. Covers original company, Taser Systems Inc. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.459 It just collapsed. The Taser was a commercial 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:14.399 flop all through the 1980s. It really took a 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.680 new set of entrepreneurs to come in, fix that 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.459 core technical mistake and, you know, launch 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:21.879 it into the mainstream. And that's where the 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:25.060 Smith brothers come in. That's right. 1993. Patrick 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:27.680 W. Smith, the CEO, and his brother Thomas P. 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:31.180 Smith. They form Air Taser Inc., and they bring 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:33.420 Jack Cover back on board to do the critical redesign. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:35.759 So this is the moment. This is what solves that 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.300 big BATF problem and finally unleashes the Taser. 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.259 What was the big engineering change? It was smart. 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:44.740 And it was simple. They just switched the propellant. 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:46.860 They went from gunpowder to compressed nitrogen 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.420 gas. And that was everything. That technical 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:52.120 change was absolutely crucial. It let the device 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:54.420 completely sidestep the federal firearm classification. 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:57.819 And boom, that just blew the distribution channels 00:05:57.819 --> 00:06:00.160 wide open. They could market it across state 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.839 lines, directly to police departments, without 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:04.759 all the red tape that crippled the original. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:06.199 And at the same time, they're looking at the 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:07.740 competition, which wasn't much, but there was 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:11.240 a company called Tazertron. There was. Tazertron's 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.379 product had kind of gotten a bad rap. It was 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.420 associated with being ineffective during the 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:18.480 Rodney King incident in 91. So the Smith brothers 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:20.879 saw this gap. They redesigned their device and 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.759 they locked down the critical patents. But even 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.259 then, it was still a struggle. Oh, yeah. They 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:27.139 nearly went bankrupt trying to sell other stuff 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:29.339 like this thing called the Auto Taser, which 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:33.060 was an anti -theft system for cars in 1997. It 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:35.680 was a total flop. So it wasn't until 1999 with 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:38.259 the Taser M26 that they really had their breakout 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:41.839 hit. And that M26 launch, that's the start of 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.560 this incredibly aggressive growth that really 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.920 defines the company's DNA. It is. The financial 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.519 turnaround was just dizzying. I mean, what was 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.579 the moment that really tipped the scales? They 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:54.279 went from a huge deficit to massive revenue in 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:56.730 June. just three years. How? It was an expensive, 00:06:56.810 --> 00:06:58.970 incredibly aggressive strategy that was all about 00:06:58.970 --> 00:07:01.750 one thing, securing market dominance and securing 00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:04.870 it instantly. In 2001, they had a $6 .8 million 00:07:04.870 --> 00:07:08.769 deficit. By 2004, sales were nearly $68 million. 00:07:09.329 --> 00:07:11.910 That's incredible. And the strategy was twofold. 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:15.439 First, an innovative, maybe ethically dubious 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:19.079 marketing tactic. And second, just super aggressive 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:21.779 patent defense. OK, let's broke down that marketing 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:23.800 tactic because it was something nobody in law 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:25.939 enforcement supply had really done before. Right. 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.459 They started this program where they offered 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:31.360 to pay police officers directly to become certified 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.379 taser instructors. And those officers would then 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:37.139 go on to train other officers in their departments 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.920 and, you know, in surrounding areas. So they're 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:41.899 turning the officers themselves into product 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:45.180 evangelists. Exactly. It created this grassroots 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:49.120 distribution and training network that just bypassed 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.500 all the traditional procurement hurdles. It gave 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:54.060 them instant legitimacy. They successfully used 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:56.379 the police structure itself to market and teach 00:07:56.379 --> 00:07:58.279 their own product. Right. And once they had that 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.540 explosive growth and the cash was flowing, they 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.060 just turned their attention to wiping out any 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:05.560 rivals. Precisely. They bought out what was left 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:08.839 of their main rival, Tazertron. But the real 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.600 weapon was their intellectual property. They 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:13.939 launched lawsuit after lawsuit to defend their 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:16.379 patents. And it worked. They basically shut down 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:18.800 companies like Stinger Systems. So this very 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.139 aggressive legal strategy, it was expensive, 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:24.019 but it created an early, you know, almost unassailable 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:26.459 monopoly in that non -lethal weapon market. It 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:28.819 did. And what's fascinating is how that set the 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:30.699 template for everything that came later. Right. 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:33.129 The key takeaway here is they established their 00:08:33.129 --> 00:08:36.549 playbook early. Acquire, litigate, and use market 00:08:36.549 --> 00:08:39.389 influence to lock down a dominant position. And 00:08:39.389 --> 00:08:41.789 that's the exact same playbook they used when 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:44.730 they pivoted to digital evidence. So that history 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:46.929 of the taser, that brings us right to the most 00:08:46.929 --> 00:08:49.590 important chapter in this whole story. The strategic 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:51.669 pivot, the move away from being just a weapon 00:08:51.669 --> 00:08:53.690 company, which, you know, always carries liability 00:08:53.690 --> 00:08:56.110 and bad PR. And toward becoming a technology 00:08:56.110 --> 00:08:57.950 and a data company. And it was a gradual move, 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.159 right? It started with just an accessory. Yeah, 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:02.399 the first step was the taser cam back in 2005. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.740 This was basically the original Axon. It was 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:08.559 an accessory that just snapped onto the taser 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:10.600 weapon itself. A grip mounted camera. A camera 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.299 mounted right on the grip. And the key thing 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:15.440 was... It activated automatically whenever the 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:18.340 taser's safety was disengaged. So it showed the 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:20.659 company understood that, you know, using their 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:23.620 weapon created a need for a record of that event. 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:26.100 And they sold a lot of them. They did. Over 45 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:29.539 ,000 by 2010. So that proved there was real demand 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:31.860 for this kind of documentation. But an accessory 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:34.799 isn't a whole business line. What was their first 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:37.759 real standalone solution for documenting police 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.049 work? That was in 2008. They unveiled their first 00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:44.769 true body worn camera, the Axon Pro. This was 00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:46.950 a dedicated device. It was head mounted at first. 00:09:47.090 --> 00:09:49.450 And this piece of hardware came with a massive, 00:09:49.490 --> 00:09:51.909 massive requirement. Online storage. Online storage. 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:53.889 And that became the foundation for their entire 00:09:53.889 --> 00:09:57.110 future empire. Evidence .com. The CEO at the 00:09:57.110 --> 00:09:59.490 time, Rick Smith, he clearly saw what was coming. 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:01.690 He said these products would provide, quote, 00:10:01.809 --> 00:10:04.929 revolutionary digital evidence collection, storage 00:10:04.929 --> 00:10:08.419 and retrieval. But, you know, to sell this new 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:11.440 expensive tech to police departments, they needed 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:13.740 a really dramatic proof of concept. And they 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:16.100 got one pretty quickly. And it demonstrated the 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:18.480 value not just for catching misconduct, but for 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:21.980 exonerating officers. In 2009, a cop in Fort 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:24.620 Smith was cleared of wrongdoing after a prosecutor 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.480 reviewed his Axon Pro footage. And that officer 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.600 and the prosecutor then became testimonials for 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:32.279 the product. Exactly. That early narrative that 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:34.720 cameras protect good officers, that was absolutely 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.299 essential to their marketing. But the real, like 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.620 the undeniable turning point for mass adoption 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:43.139 was that 2013 Rialto Police Department study. 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:47.620 This study, using Axon Flex cameras, it generated 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:50.259 the hard numbers that sold this technology to 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:52.539 the rest of the country. The Rialto study provided 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:54.779 the statistical proof that these cameras don't 00:10:54.779 --> 00:10:57.019 just record events. They actually change behavior. 00:10:57.299 --> 00:10:59.659 OK, what were the numbers? They found an 88 percent 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:02.200 drop in citizen complaints filed against officers 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.879 and a nearly 60 percent reduction in the number 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:08.080 of times officers used force. An 88 percent drop 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.419 in complaints. I mean, from an efficiency standpoint 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:13.539 alone, that's incredible. Think of all the time 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:15.779 and money saved on internal affairs investigations. 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:19.399 That number, especially after high profile events 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.950 like Ferguson. gave departments the political 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:24.169 cover and the operational justification they 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:27.629 needed. Exactly. The study validated Rick Smith's 00:11:27.629 --> 00:11:30.029 vision that they weren't just about weapons anymore. 00:11:30.169 --> 00:11:32.529 They were about providing transparency and solving 00:11:32.529 --> 00:11:35.750 related data problems. The weapon was the past. 00:11:35.970 --> 00:11:38.090 The data was the future. And that meant they 00:11:38.090 --> 00:11:40.389 needed a complete corporate rebrand. A total 00:11:40.389 --> 00:11:43.450 overhaul. So in 2015, they formed the Axon division, 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:46.490 based in Seattle, specifically for the tech side, 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:49.389 the cameras, the software, the analytics, and 00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:52.929 the taser. It sounds like they were trying to 00:11:52.929 --> 00:11:55.110 split the good tech business from the bad brand 00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:57.330 name of the weapon. That was a huge part of it. 00:11:57.470 --> 00:11:59.909 The CEO even said he was inspired by how Microsoft 00:11:59.909 --> 00:12:02.169 used the Xbox brand to get into entertainment. 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:05.250 You let the clean, new tech brand of Axon grow, 00:12:05.509 --> 00:12:07.629 you know, separate from the controversial Taser 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:10.049 Corps. And Smith later said the Taser name was 00:12:10.049 --> 00:12:12.330 becoming a... A bit of a distraction when he 00:12:12.330 --> 00:12:14.730 was trying to hire top software engineers in 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:16.990 places like Seattle. Right. You can't compete 00:12:16.990 --> 00:12:19.950 with Amazon and Microsoft for talent if your 00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:22.690 company name is associated with, you know, viral 00:12:22.690 --> 00:12:25.590 videos of police brutality. So the rebranding 00:12:25.590 --> 00:12:29.090 finally happened in April 2017. Taser International 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:32.389 officially became Axon Enterprise. But the real 00:12:32.389 --> 00:12:35.250 masterstroke, the move that just cemented their 00:12:35.250 --> 00:12:37.809 dominance, was still to come. And that was the 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:40.830 strategic move to just buy market share. Axon 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:43.110 announced they would offer free one -year trials 00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:45.169 of their body cameras and their Evidence .com 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:47.549 service to any police agency in the U .S. Wow. 00:12:47.730 --> 00:12:50.309 Giving away the hardware and the essential cloud 00:12:50.309 --> 00:12:53.549 service for a whole year, that is a massive, 00:12:53.610 --> 00:12:56.210 costly bet. What was the business logic there? 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.700 It's all about creating vendor lock -in. A data 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:02.360 moat, you could call it. Once a police department 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.539 uploads thousands and thousands of hours of critical, 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.220 legally required evidence into the Evidence .com 00:13:08.220 --> 00:13:11.519 cloud, moving all that data to a competitor becomes 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.899 just astronomically expensive and time -consuming. 00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:17.000 And risky, right. Because of chain of custody 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.440 rules. Incredibly risky. So by giving away that 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.919 first year, Axon basically guaranteed themselves 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:25.299 years, maybe even decades, of highly profitable 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:27.379 subscription revenue down the line. And did it 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:30.820 work? Oh, it paid off immediately. By 2017, Axon 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.759 cameras had an 85 % market share among police 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.320 departments in major U .S. cities. They just 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.480 became the default standard. And once they had 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:41.899 that dominant position, they moved to consolidate 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:44.399 the market even further. Yep. We mentioned they 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:48.100 acquired their competitor Vivu in 2018 for what 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:51.080 was really peanuts, $4 .6 million in cash and 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:53.299 a couple million in stock. So buying Vivu for 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:56.399 just over $7 million seems like a steal. But 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.639 that small acquisition is what triggered this 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:01.299 massive antitrust lawsuit years later. What was 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:03.360 the government's argument? It was a cheap buy 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:06.580 that had huge consequences. Because it wiped 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:09.080 out one of the very few credible competitors 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:12.840 left in a very concentrated market. The FTC's 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:15.240 argument was basically that Axon already had 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.940 a dominant position and buying Vivu would just 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:21.559 stifle competition, kill innovation, and ultimately 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:24.620 let them charge cities inflated prices for essential 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.419 tech. It's that same playbook. That aggressive 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:30.210 dominance they established with the taser. was 00:14:30.210 --> 00:14:32.309 now being deployed to achieve an overwhelming 00:14:32.309 --> 00:14:34.889 position in the digital evidence market. Exactly. 00:14:35.090 --> 00:14:37.389 So that 85 % market share, it wasn't just because 00:14:37.389 --> 00:14:39.210 of free trials. It was also because they were 00:14:39.210 --> 00:14:41.710 just constantly investing in and evolving the 00:14:41.710 --> 00:14:44.070 hardware. Let's walk through that evolution of 00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:45.970 the body -worn camera because they really did 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:48.210 set the industry standards. The first one, the 00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:50.570 Axon Pro in 2009, that was really just a proof 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.549 of concept. It was head -mounted. It was bulky. 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:54.750 You needed a separate controller. It proved you 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:57.070 could record, but it wasn't practical. Then came 00:14:57.070 --> 00:14:59.970 the second generation. The Axon Flex in 2012 00:14:59.970 --> 00:15:03.149 and the Axon Body in 2013. And this is where 00:15:03.149 --> 00:15:04.669 the hardware starts to look like what we see 00:15:04.669 --> 00:15:06.809 today, much more integrated. They streamlined 00:15:06.809 --> 00:15:08.909 everything. They got rid of the clunky monitor 00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:11.450 and just used a mobile phone app, Axon View. 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:14.769 The video was still standard definition, but 00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:17.049 the most crucial innovation in that generation 00:15:17.049 --> 00:15:20.250 was the pre -event buffer. The pre -event buffer. 00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:22.529 That sounds like it solves the single biggest 00:15:22.529 --> 00:15:25.149 problem with police footage, which is human reaction 00:15:25.149 --> 00:15:28.549 time. How does that work? And why was it such 00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:31.330 a game changer? It fundamentally changed what 00:15:31.330 --> 00:15:34.370 an official record could be. The buffer is always 00:15:34.370 --> 00:15:37.039 recording video, but it's in a short loop. maybe 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.799 30 seconds, and it just discards it over and 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.700 over unless the officer hits the record button. 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.720 Oh, okay. When they hit record, the camera automatically 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.419 saves the 30 seconds of video before that moment 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:50.360 and then continues recording. So it guarantees 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:52.159 you don't miss the critical moments leading up 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.299 to an incident just because of adrenaline or 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:56.279 delayed reaction. Exactly. It lets the video 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:58.440 show what the officer perceived and what they 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:00.360 were reacting to, not just the action itself. 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:03.539 It became an absolutely essential non -negotiable 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:06.379 feature for police contracts everywhere. moving 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:08.840 into the third generation. They focused on better 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.679 video quality and connectivity. Right. The Axon 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.840 Body 2 in 2015, that bumped it up to 1080p full 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.460 HD video and introduced wireless activation. 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:22.000 But the real shift into like a networked real 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.059 -time device came with the Axon Body 3 in 2019. 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:27.820 And what did having an integrated LTE connection 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:30.100 let them do that they couldn't do before? The 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:32.240 LTE connection turned the camera from just a 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:34.860 recorder into a command and control tool. It 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:36.620 allowed for live streaming of an incident back 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:38.860 to a command center. And critically, it allowed 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:41.159 for remote wireless activation. The supervisor 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.240 could, in theory, log into evidence .com and 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:46.360 see a live feed from an officer's camera on the 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:49.360 street. Yes. That capability completely changed 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.559 tactical response. And the tech has just kept 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:54.019 accelerating. The newest one, the Axon Body 4 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:56.840 from 2023, it pushes things even further. The 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:00.299 Body 4 goes up to 1440p Quad HD. It has a wider 00:17:00.299 --> 00:17:02.879 160 -degree field of view. And it bumps the encryption 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.400 up to AES 256 -bit. Why is that encryption upgrade 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.990 so important? That AES 256 -bit encryption, it's 00:17:09.990 --> 00:17:12.650 not just a spec on a data sheet. That's military 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.430 -grade security. For evidence, it's what guarantees 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:18.190 admissibility in court. It proves the data hasn't 00:17:18.190 --> 00:17:20.369 been tampered with, and it maintains the digital 00:17:20.369 --> 00:17:23.029 chain of custody. It's a key feature that helps 00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.190 them lock in these long -term government contracts. 00:17:25.529 --> 00:17:28.170 And this whole hardware ecosystem, it goes way 00:17:28.170 --> 00:17:30.230 beyond just the camera on the officer's chest, 00:17:30.329 --> 00:17:32.869 and it all feeds back into Evidence .com. That's 00:17:32.869 --> 00:17:34.910 right. They have Axon Interview, which are video 00:17:34.910 --> 00:17:37.500 systems for interview rooms. They have Axon Fleet 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:39.660 for in -car video and license plate readers. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.259 All these different data streams flow back to 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:45.299 that one central, highly profitable hub. And 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:47.440 now they're looking to expand even further into 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:49.779 permanent public surveillance, moving from just 00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:52.680 recording incidents to becoming proactive surveillance 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:55.119 infrastructure. What are the details on their 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:58.319 2025 plans? This is where privacy advocates get 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:00.740 really concerned. Axon announced plans for pole 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:03.420 -mounted, automated license plate readers, ALPR 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:06.579 systems. But the much bigger plan is to start 00:18:06.579 --> 00:18:09.259 retrofitting existing city infrastructure, like 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:11.200 streetlights, with similar surveillance tech. 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:13.220 So they're leveraging their existing relationships 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:16.480 with police to become this full -spectrum public 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.640 surveillance provider, embedding their tech right 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:21.599 into the urban landscape. That's the ambition. 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.119 Moving from being reactive recorders to being 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.839 citywide data collectors. Which brings us to 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:29.180 the platform itself. The hardware is just how 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:32.079 they collect the data. The real power is in the 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.119 proprietary ecosystem that manages it all. So 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:37.839 let's dive into Evidence .com. What makes it 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.680 so indispensable, so sticky for these agencies? 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:44.640 Evidence .com is, at its core, a cloud -based 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:48.019 digital evidence management system. But its stickiness, 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:50.359 the reason agencies find it so hard to leave, 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:53.509 is built on three pillars. Legal compliance, 00:18:53.849 --> 00:18:56.930 efficiency, and integrated sharing. Okay, so 00:18:56.930 --> 00:18:59.109 how does it nail those specific needs? Well, 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:00.789 for efficiency, you have automated redaction 00:19:00.789 --> 00:19:03.130 tools. Think about it. Before you release body 00:19:03.130 --> 00:19:04.990 cam video to the public, you have to blur out 00:19:04.990 --> 00:19:07.690 faces of minors, license plates, all sorts of 00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.170 sensitive info. Doing that by hand is an impossible 00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:12.650 task. Evidence .com automates a lot of that. 00:19:12.809 --> 00:19:15.569 And for the legal side? It creates comprehensive, 00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:19.890 unalterable audit trails. The chain of custody 00:19:19.890 --> 00:19:24.069 is perfect. Every single time someone accesses 00:19:24.069 --> 00:19:26.470 a file or shares it or even tries to edit it, 00:19:26.549 --> 00:19:29.990 it's logged. And that's absolutely non -negotiable 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:32.509 for evidence to be admissible in court. And it 00:19:32.509 --> 00:19:34.349 links the old product line to the new one. It's 00:19:34.349 --> 00:19:37.490 not just video. Correct. Their desktop app. EvidenceSync 00:19:37.490 --> 00:19:39.869 lets you upload evidence from other devices, 00:19:40.109 --> 00:19:43.029 but critically, it also pulls in all the operational 00:19:43.029 --> 00:19:45.529 logs and metadata from the taser weapons themselves. 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:48.650 So it digitally links the weapons used to the 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:51.289 recorded evidence in one single audit trail. 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:53.589 The crucial step, though, is making sure the 00:19:53.589 --> 00:19:56.150 camera is actually on when something happens. 00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.130 That's where Axon Signal comes in. Explain how 00:19:59.130 --> 00:20:01.349 this tech tries to take human error out of the 00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:04.210 equation. Axon Signal is a whole suite of products 00:20:04.210 --> 00:20:07.220 designed for automated triggering. The idea is 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:09.400 to make sure critical moments get captured without 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:11.839 an officer having to remember to hit a button 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:13.680 when they're under stress. So how does it work? 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.539 For example, Signal Vehicle can wirelessly tell 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:19.039 all nearby body cameras to start recording based 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:20.960 on what the police cruiser is doing. Like when 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.210 the light bar goes on. Exactly. Or when a specific 00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:27.549 door opens or the siren gets activated, it also 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:29.970 links directly to the tools of force. Right. 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.630 The signal performance power magazine, that's 00:20:32.630 --> 00:20:34.630 a special grip for the taser that automatically 00:20:34.630 --> 00:20:36.730 starts the camera recording the second the weapon 00:20:36.730 --> 00:20:38.930 is armed. And more recently, they introduced 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:41.789 signal sidearm. A sensor for the handgun holster. 00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:44.269 Yep. A sensor in the holster that triggers the 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:47.009 camera to start recording the instant the officer 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:50.170 draws their service weapon. This level of integration. 00:20:50.890 --> 00:20:53.269 where all this hardware is talking to each other 00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:54.970 and automatically starting the evidence stream, 00:20:55.190 --> 00:20:58.329 it really hammers home that ecosystem concept. 00:20:59.069 --> 00:21:01.410 And the officer's phone plays a big role, too. 00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:04.390 It does, through two main apps. Axon View pairs 00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:06.490 with the body camera, lets an officer review 00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:09.470 footage on the spot, tag it with notes. It also 00:21:09.470 --> 00:21:12.210 uses GPS to automatically map where the evidence 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.990 was recorded. And what about evidence that doesn't 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:16.869 come from the body camera, like a photo of a 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:19.660 crime scene? That's Axon Capture. It's an app 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:21.720 that lets an officer use their phone to take 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:24.400 photos, video or audio recordings and upload 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.940 them securely and directly to evidence .com. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:29.799 So even that ad hoc evidence maintains a proper 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:32.140 chain of custody. OK, now we have to talk about 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:34.000 the most controversial leap they've made recently. 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:37.440 The integration of generative AI with a product 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.319 they call DraftOne. Because this moves Axon from 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.400 just managing the evidence to actually helping 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:47.579 write the official police record. DraftOne is 00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:50.460 a generative AI tool designed to automate writing 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.319 police reports. It listens to the audio from 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.559 an officer's body -worn camera, generates a transcript, 00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.539 and then based on that, it produces a draft summary 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:02.279 of the incident. This is a huge shift. The officer 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:04.839 is now editing a report drafted by an AI, not 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:06.799 writing it from their own memory. What's the 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:08.680 fundamental opposition to this? The Electronic 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:10.859 Frontier Foundation, the EFF, they've come out 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:12.799 very strongly against it. They say it's, quote, 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.480 designed to defy transparency. What's their argument? 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:18.079 Their argument is that when an AI summarizes 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:20.559 and structures the narrative, it creates this 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.380 new layer between the raw evidence and the final 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:27.200 report. That interpretation, driven by a proprietary 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.220 Axon algorithm, becomes the starting point of 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:32.319 the official record. And it could potentially 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.140 frame the event in a certain way or obscure certain 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:37.720 details, making the report's creation process 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.640 less transparent. So the officer is essentially 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:43.759 editing a report written by a machine from the 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.019 same company that sold them the camera that recorded 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:48.700 the event. It's a completely closed loop of information 00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:51.920 control. It is a closed loop. And it's incredibly 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:54.000 efficient. Axon's defense, of course, is that 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.140 it saves officers huge amounts of time on paperwork. 00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:59.279 But the ethical scrutiny is intense. And this 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:02.240 ecosystem also pulls in the public. Axon Citizen. 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:05.059 Right. Axon Citizen is a cloud solution that 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:07.980 lets regular people, you know, the public easily 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:10.640 and securely upload photos and videos directly 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.339 to a law enforcement agency during an investigation. 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:16.019 So it streamlines that chaotic process of collecting 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:19.480 bystander video after a major incident. Exactly. 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:21.759 The agency can just send out a link via text 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:24.039 message and people can upload their files directly. 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:27.099 It's structured, it's streamlined, and crucially, 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:29.519 the evidence maintains a secure chain of custody 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.380 from the moment the civilian uploads it. And 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:34.799 looking forward, their ambition is to control 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.240 the very start of the entire process, starting 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.359 with the 911 call. Yes, that agreement to acquire 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:44.019 Carbine for $625 million is a landmark deal. 00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:47.839 Carbine is an AI -powered 911 technology company. 00:23:48.349 --> 00:23:51.109 By integrating them, Axon is stepping right into 00:23:51.109 --> 00:23:53.670 the 911 call center. They're starting the data 00:23:53.670 --> 00:23:55.789 collection the moment the call is placed, linking 00:23:55.789 --> 00:23:57.890 the dispatcher, the caller, and the responding 00:23:57.890 --> 00:24:00.349 officer's camera into one unified system from 00:24:00.349 --> 00:24:02.529 the very beginning. This kind of comprehensive, 00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:05.049 aggressive expansion has obviously led to significant 00:24:05.049 --> 00:24:07.750 controversy, both with the Taser itself and now 00:24:07.750 --> 00:24:09.890 with their digital practices. Let's get into 00:24:09.890 --> 00:24:11.990 those legal and ethical challenges. You have 00:24:11.990 --> 00:24:14.170 to start with the Taser product liability. Now, 00:24:14.190 --> 00:24:16.130 despite their very aggressive legal defense, 00:24:16.349 --> 00:24:22.190 the company has lost two But they also say they 00:24:22.190 --> 00:24:24.529 have a very strong defense record. They do. They 00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:26.609 are quick to point out that they've gotten dismissals 00:24:26.609 --> 00:24:29.710 or judgments in their favor in 59 other wrongful 00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:32.269 death or injury lawsuits. So what's the story 00:24:32.269 --> 00:24:36.740 there? Why? The huge disparity. They are notoriously 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:39.339 aggressive in their defense. A lot of those 59 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:41.819 cases were settled and dismissed, not necessarily 00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:44.119 because the device was proven harmless, but because 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.240 it just became too expensive for the plaintiffs 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:48.740 to keep fighting. They've also invested a ton 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:51.140 of money in internal research to support the 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:53.660 safety profile of their device in court. And 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:56.019 we have to talk about one of the most high profile 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:59.559 international incidents, one that really changed 00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:02.039 the public perception of the taser. That would 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:05.480 be the 2007 death of Robert Zukoski, a Polish 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:07.839 immigrant at the Vancouver International Airport. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.700 He was tased multiple times by RCMP officers. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:12.950 And there was a video, right? Yes, a bystander 00:25:12.950 --> 00:25:15.190 video that went viral. And a provincial inquiry 00:25:15.190 --> 00:25:18.349 later found the tasing was unjustified. In 2013, 00:25:18.569 --> 00:25:21.210 his death was officially ruled a homicide, with 00:25:21.210 --> 00:25:23.349 the coroner citing a heart attack from the repeated 00:25:23.349 --> 00:25:26.690 electrical jolts. And that incident sparked major 00:25:26.690 --> 00:25:29.470 inquiries into taser use by police across Canada 00:25:29.470 --> 00:25:32.529 and really around the world. It also ties into 00:25:32.529 --> 00:25:35.369 a much broader medical controversy that Axon 00:25:35.369 --> 00:25:37.130 is right in the middle of. It does, and that 00:25:37.130 --> 00:25:39.769 is the controversy over the diagnosis of excited 00:25:39.769 --> 00:25:42.910 delirium. that Axon has been a chief proponent 00:25:42.910 --> 00:25:45.029 of. Right. It's a deeply contested diagnosis 00:25:45.029 --> 00:25:47.589 used to explain sudden deaths that happen during 00:25:47.589 --> 00:25:49.730 police encounters, often involving restraint 00:25:49.730 --> 00:25:53.410 or the use of a taser. Axon has actively promoted 00:25:53.410 --> 00:25:55.809 this diagnosis in its legal defenses and training 00:25:55.809 --> 00:25:58.190 materials. OK, so to be very clear for our listener, 00:25:58.289 --> 00:26:00.930 what is excited delirium and what is the central 00:26:00.930 --> 00:26:04.730 critique that it's just a cover for positional 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:07.619 asphyxia? So to report this impartially, excited 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:10.160 delirium is described as a syndrome of extreme 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:12.579 agitation, aggression, high body temperature 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:15.160 that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death. 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:18.519 However, many major medical organizations, including 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:20.960 the American Psychiatric Association, either 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:23.359 don't recognize it or have removed it as a valid 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.299 diagnosis. The critical argument is that the 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:29.019 diagnosis is often used to obscure the real cause 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:31.980 of death. which is positional asphyxia. Basically, 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:35.220 someone dies because the way they're being restrained, 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.259 often after being tased and exhausted, restricts 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:40.519 their ability to breathe. So critics are saying 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:43.200 that by promoting excited delirium, the company 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:45.779 is shifting blame away from the weapon or the 00:26:45.779 --> 00:26:48.259 police restraint methods. That is the essential 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:50.279 legal argument. It allows the company and the 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.700 officers to point to a supposed pre -existing 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:55.140 medical condition rather than excessive force 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:57.940 as the cause of death. It's been called a form 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:00.759 of junk science by human rights advocates. Moving 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:02.579 away from the weapon, let's look at their corporate 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:05.180 conduct. There was a really bizarre incident 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:08.500 in 2015 with a documentary. A very strange episode. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.539 It was discovered that several Taser International 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:13.940 employees had been review bombing the Amazon 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:16.319 and iTunes listings for a documentary called 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:18.500 Killing Them Safely. Which was a film critical 00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:21.359 of Taser use. Exactly. It investigated major 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:23.720 incidents involving a weapon. And it looked like 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:26.200 there was this coordinated secret effort from 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:28.740 inside the company to undermine critical media 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:31.339 coverage by flooding it with negative online 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:34.170 reviews. That suggests a certain intolerance 00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:36.789 for scrutiny, which is really relevant when we 00:27:36.789 --> 00:27:38.730 look at the terms of serviceforevidence .com, 00:27:38.910 --> 00:27:42.069 which governs millions of hours of public video 00:27:42.069 --> 00:27:45.049 data. This is a huge area of concern for data 00:27:45.049 --> 00:27:47.710 rights advocates. In 2017, a defense lawyer in 00:27:47.710 --> 00:27:49.910 California flagged this incredible clause in 00:27:49.910 --> 00:27:53.009 the evidence .com terms of service. The license 00:27:53.009 --> 00:27:55.869 that police departments grant to Axon is, and 00:27:55.869 --> 00:27:59.349 I'm quoting, non -exclusive, transferable, irrevocable, 00:27:59.549 --> 00:28:03.049 royalty -free, sub -licensable. worldwide license 00:28:03.049 --> 00:28:06.069 to use the photos and videos uploaded by users. 00:28:06.329 --> 00:28:08.670 Okay, let's break down that legalese. Does that 00:28:08.670 --> 00:28:10.470 mean if a police department uploads a million 00:28:10.470 --> 00:28:12.970 hours of public video, Axon can then use all 00:28:12.970 --> 00:28:15.509 that data to train its own AI models like DraftOne, 00:28:15.650 --> 00:28:18.150 and the public gets no say and no payment? That 00:28:18.150 --> 00:28:20.269 is exactly what that clause implies. It gives 00:28:20.269 --> 00:28:23.210 Axon essentially unlimited, free and permanent 00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:25.710 rights to use public data for its own commercial 00:28:25.710 --> 00:28:28.970 gain. It helps them build a massive data advantage 00:28:28.970 --> 00:28:31.730 over any competitor. And it raises very serious 00:28:31.730 --> 00:28:34.450 privacy concerns, especially with data involving 00:28:34.450 --> 00:28:37.670 juveniles. And this market dominance and data 00:28:37.670 --> 00:28:40.829 control is what finally triggered that antitrust 00:28:40.829 --> 00:28:44.890 lawsuit from the FTC in 2020 over the VEVU acquisition. 00:28:45.190 --> 00:28:48.170 Right. The FTC alleged Axon. was creating a monopoly. 00:28:48.470 --> 00:28:50.849 But Axon's response was, I mean, it was almost 00:28:50.849 --> 00:28:52.950 unheard of. Instead of just fighting the case, 00:28:53.069 --> 00:28:55.970 Axon sued the FTC itself. On what grounds? They 00:28:55.970 --> 00:28:58.089 claimed the agency's entire internal structure 00:28:58.089 --> 00:29:00.890 was unconstitutional. They challenged the very 00:29:00.890 --> 00:29:03.730 authority of the FTC to regulate them. That is 00:29:03.730 --> 00:29:06.049 an incredibly aggressive legal move. And what 00:29:06.049 --> 00:29:07.869 was the outcome? It was highly effective. It 00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:10.170 put the FTC on the defensive and the agency eventually 00:29:10.170 --> 00:29:12.549 just withdrew its complaint in 2023. It showed 00:29:12.549 --> 00:29:14.650 just how far Axon is willing to go to protect 00:29:14.650 --> 00:29:16.509 its market position. But the antitrust fight. 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:18.789 isn't over. Now the cities themselves are suing. 00:29:18.890 --> 00:29:22.430 That's right. In late 2023, three U .S. cities 00:29:22.430 --> 00:29:25.069 filed a class action antitrust lawsuit against 00:29:25.069 --> 00:29:28.230 Axon. They alleged the company abused its market 00:29:28.230 --> 00:29:31.950 power to force them to pay inflated prices, leveraging 00:29:31.950 --> 00:29:34.569 that vendor lock -in we talked about. They're 00:29:34.569 --> 00:29:36.509 basically saying the monopoly is now costing 00:29:36.509 --> 00:29:39.130 taxpayers money. And finally, we have to touch 00:29:39.130 --> 00:29:41.609 on the most dramatic ethical crisis in their 00:29:41.609 --> 00:29:44.710 recent history. The proposal for taser -armed 00:29:44.710 --> 00:29:48.599 drones. In June 2022, Axon announced a plan for 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:50.960 taser -armed drones, and they framed it as a 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.579 way to stop school shootings. The backlash was 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:56.279 immediate and intense. And nine members of their 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:58.940 own internal ethics board resigned over it. This 00:29:58.940 --> 00:30:00.559 wasn't just a disagreement. This was a complete 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:02.559 ethical breakdown. What was their core concern? 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.079 The board issued a unanimous statement. Their 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.160 concern was that Axon's proposal was rushed, 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:09.740 it lacked safety protocols, and most importantly, 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:12.519 it risked normalizing the use of autonomous weaponized 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:15.079 drones in domestic settings. They felt it was 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.400 blurring the line between law enforcement and 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:20.460 military -style autonomous systems. Their resignation 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:23.710 was a huge statement. It was profound and it 00:30:23.710 --> 00:30:26.049 forced Exxon to immediately pause the entire 00:30:26.049 --> 00:30:29.210 plan. It's just a striking example of the immense 00:30:29.210 --> 00:30:31.410 power they have and the ethical tightrope they're 00:30:31.410 --> 00:30:33.490 constantly walking. So what we've seen here is 00:30:33.490 --> 00:30:36.170 a complete corporate reinvention. Exxon has evolved 00:30:36.170 --> 00:30:39.410 from that, you know, controversial 1970s idea 00:30:39.410 --> 00:30:42.650 of a Tom Swift electric rifle into a 21st century 00:30:42.650 --> 00:30:46.170 full spectrum digital evidence contractor. And 00:30:46.170 --> 00:30:49.670 they did it by strategically shifting to a subscription 00:30:49.670 --> 00:30:53.079 based cloud centric. model. They went from selling 00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:55.480 a weapon to managing the official record of its 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:58.039 use and everything else besides. We've traced 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:00.799 the tech from those bulky early cameras to today's 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:03.539 1440p models with military -grade encryption. 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:06.180 And critically, we've detailed the software ecosystem 00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:09.079 that locks it all in, from Axon Signal's automated 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:11.819 triggers to AI -powered report writing with DraftOne. 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.359 The central paradox for you, the listener, to 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:16.440 really think about is this. Axon is a company 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:18.539 built on the promise of police transparency through 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:21.079 cameras. Yet it is constantly facing these huge 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:23.039 controversies for its use of public data, its 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:24.720 market dominance, and its ethical boundaries, 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:27.259 like with excited delirium and the drone plan. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:29.819 The camera is there to show the truth. But the 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:32.519 corporation that manages the data holds all the 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:34.759 keys to what that truth ultimately looks like. 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:37.799 They control the entire information flow, from 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:40.339 the 911 call to the automatic recording, all 00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:42.519 the way to the final. Written police report. 00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:44.599 And if we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:46.839 the provocative thought to leave you with is 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:50.119 this. Given Axon's history of aggressive dominance 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:52.619 and its royalty -free license over public data, 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:56.220 what are the deep, long -term implications when 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:59.180 a single corporate vendor manages virtually the 00:31:59.180 --> 00:32:01.660 entire chain of custody for public safety evidence? 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:04.579 When they hold that much sway over the official, 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:07.859 legally defensible record of policing and can 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:10.400 use that vast data set to train their own private 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.089 AI? It's a fundamental question. of public accountability 00:32:13.089 --> 00:32:16.109 versus corporate control and it defines so much 00:32:16.109 --> 00:32:17.849 of the landscape of policing and data privacy 00:32:17.849 --> 00:32:21.009 today that was the deep dive into axon enterprise 00:32:21.009 --> 00:32:23.490 we hope this knowledge serves you well we'll 00:32:23.490 --> 00:32:23.970 see you next time