As we begin a decade amidst global protests about police brutality, Axon may soon become one of the most consequential tech companies. Almost every adult in Western society knows Axon’s marquee products: the TASER and the police bodycam. And as the world rethinks the future of law enforcement, Axon’s technology will play an increasingly important role in how society functions.

I joined Axon’s Board of Directors 10 years ago. At the time, Axon was a small company called TASER International. Rick Smith, the founder, convinced me to join his simple yet inspirational mission: to Protect Life. Rick had founded the company to sell TASERs, so people and police would use guns less. In 2010 he wanted to expand it from a small manufacturer of nonlethal weapons to be a much larger tech company, to sell bodycams and software services, to help reduce the use of force of all kinds.

Now, as I look back on 10 years at Axon, it’s bittersweet to see how far things have come for Axon the company, and yet how much farther we have to go as a human race.

Averted over 200,000 potential deaths by police deadly force

Helped make bodycams an expectation of police in a civilized society, capturing 37 million hours of police interactions to increase transparency and accountability

Introduced revolutionary ideas such as using VR for de-escalation training for cops

Grew from a manufacturing team of 300 people making TASERs to a global team of 1,500+ making an entire ecosystem of software and hardware devices

Grew annual revenues six-fold, and grew profits from ~$0 to $87 million of adjusted earnings

Grew total market capitalization 25-fold, a multiple greater than even Amazon’s growth over the same time

But as I look back at the last 10 years, I ask, could we have done more to protect life? At a time when the world is gripped by images of the brutal killings of Black Americans such as George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, Axon’s most important work is in what comes next.

Millions watched the death of Rayshard Brooks as it was captured by Axon cameras. A decade ago, Mr. Brooks’ death would have been explained only in the words of the police officers on the scene. Today, we have video evidence from multiple vantage points, showing the full interactions that led to Mr. Brooks’ death. We shouldn’t accept for events like this to be judged only through the lens of race, nor through a one-sided memory of what happened, when technology can present a more complete story.

The transparency and accountability provided by bodycams aren’t magical solutions to prevent deaths, but they do give a clearer picture of what happened. This clearer picture not only helps ensure justice is served, it also leads to de-escalation in the moment, reducing complaints against police by 93%. 

As politicians consider police reform to battle systemic racism, while most tech companies contribute little more than statements of support, Axon courageously asks how new technology can help:

Could cities demilitarize police by following London’s example, arming cops with cameras and TASERs instead of deadly guns and batons?

What if virtual reality could be used to train police officers to see the world differently, to better deal with issues of racism, mental health, and violence?

What is the ethical role of AI in policing? Computer vision could help recover a stolen car or a kidnapped child, but it could also expand racial profiling and perpetuate racism.

Can school shootings be prevented or reduced using technology?

Should society use drones or robots in policing  — and how would we do so ethically?  Countries around the world are already experimenting with “robot” police.

How does one build policing technology that is used for good, while preventing misuse?

Could a TASER device be effective enough to truly obsolete the bullet?

These are all questions that Axon will face over its next ten years of growth. They are technological questions, but also social, ethical, political, and philosophical questions. Over the next decade, the team at Axon must engage a broad group of stakeholders to think through the answers. 

As a multi-billion dollar global company, Axon doesn’t only serve customers in law enforcement. Axon’s ultimate customer is society at large. Where many people see a false choice between public safety and civil liberty, Axon sees that these concepts are intertwined.  A safe and just society requires a public that feels safe and a government that values protecting the civil rights and privacy of all its citizens. Our future need not be a choice between divisive visions, but can be one where technology and ethical design play a key role in achieving better outcomes across the board.

I hope to look back in 2030 to see not only another decade of meteoric growth, but also transformative change in how technology has helped society protect life.

As we begin a decade amidst global protests about police brutality, Axon may soon become one of the most consequential tech companies. Almost every adult in Western society knows Axon’s marquee products: the TASER and the police bodycam.

<Axon 2030: rethinking law enforcement>

Axon 2030: rethinking law enforcement

By Hadi Partovi, Director, Axon

Dr. Ellie Graeden from Talus Analytics Shares Her Data Perspective on COVID-19

Data-driven decisions on public health emergencies

What is the risk profile of COVID-19 and what is happening from a scientific and data-analysis perspective? How do we take that information and translate it into something that is immediately practical? Watch the video with Dr. Ellie Graeden to find out more.

Understand how we can understand what is going on, what is the risk profile and what is happening in the world from a scientific and data-analysis perspective. How do we take that information and translate it into something that is immediately practical? Watch video to find out more.

Data-Driven Decisions on Public Health Emergencies

ARTICLE: Data-Driven Decisions on Public Health Emergencies

It’s a parade on a busy street. Armed terrorists suddenly appear and flood a luxury hotel filled with civilians. Law enforcement officers arrive quickly and storm in after them, hoping to end the attack quickly and without any civilian casualties.

Thank goodness this isn’t real, think Axon representatives Jason Laumeyer and Rich Allen, who are observing a simulated exercise at Verizon’s and Nokia's Operation Convergent Response 2019 (#OCR2019). OCR is a unique event that brings together first responders to witness real-world demos of the latest technologies in public safety. The most recent event took place at the Guardian Centers in Perry, Georgia. As shots rang out and helicopters flew overhead, the Guardian Centers was “under attack” by terrorists. And our latest body camera, Axon Body 3, was there to capture the action.

“It was like being on a movie set,” said Axon’s Laumeyer, “only all of the first responder ‘actors’ have to be prepared for this type of situation to happen in real life. It gave us a new appreciation for what public safety deals with and why it’s so important for Axon and Verizon to team up to help.”

Indeed, the partnership between Axon and Verizon is, in part, what makes Axon Body 3 our most impactful device yet. It’s the first body-worn camera for law enforcement on Verizon’s network dedicated to first responders, which offers preemption and priority service. That means the connected features of Body 3, like live maps and live streaming, can remain up and running in critical situations by being prioritized over commercial wireless traffic. In turn, officers and agencies can respond with greater safety and effectiveness.

Building more effective responses is exactly why OCR came to be. As critical incidents become increasingly more complex, technology can be deployed in new ways to help. Alongside other technologies, our cameras were in full effect during the fake-but-chillingly-realistic terror attack, recording clear evidence and audio, and giving remote observers the ability to see officer locations and live streams as the incident unfolded. After the fact, several participants asked if they could use the footage for training purposes to help reinforce the lessons they learned while at OCR. It was an exercise in collaboration across the board.

We hope none of the scenarios from OCR ever manifest in the real world. But if they do, we are glad to partner with companies like Verizon to equip the men and women of public safety with the latest technologies.


To learn more about the connected features of Axon Body 3, click here. For more information on Verizon’s public safety solutions, click here. And for more about #OCR2019, click here.

First responders rush to the rescue of innocent civilians during a mock terrorist attack at Verizon's #OCR2019.

Axon Body 3 Footage

Axon's latest body camera, Axon Body 3, launched recently. Agencies all over the country are already using it to capture clearer evidence than ever before, but today we wanted to cover a unique way that Body 3 was used “out in the wild.”

Axon Body 3 in Action: Taking on “Terrorists” at Verizon’s and Nokia's Operation Convergent Response

ARTICLE: Verizon Joint Blog: AB3 in Action

Our latest body camera, Axon Body 3, launched recently. Agencies all over the country are already using it to capture clearer evidence than ever before, but today we wanted to cover a unique way that Body 3 was used “out in the wild.”

USFS now deploying body cameras and TASER weapons on the first ever FedRamp-authorized digital evidence management system, Axon Evidence

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon (Nasdaq: AAXN), the global leader in connected law enforcement technologies, today announced that the United States Forest Service (USFS) will outfit officers and agents across its law enforcement and investigative agency with Axon Body 2 cameras backed by the digital evidence management system, Axon Evidence (Evidence.com). The USFS has been a TASER Conducted Energy Weapon customer since 2008 and began an agency-wide deployment of TASER X26Ps in 2018. USFS Law Enforcement and Investigations is the first federal law enforcement agency to adopt Axon's full less-lethal ecosystem. This order was received in the third quarter of 2019 and will deploy in multiple phases.

In addition to the Axon Body 2 cameras, the USFS also ordered Axon Signal Performance Power Magazine (SPPM), a CEW battery that alerts cameras on the Axon network to begin recording when the safety is in the "armed" position. The SPPM will be incorporated into all TASER X26P CEWs deployed across the agency.

"We are thrilled to partner with the Forest Service, the first federal agency to deploy Axon's ecosystem of life saving technologies across their law enforcement enterprise," says Richard Coleman, Axon's VP and GM, Federal. "The Forest Service's mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the 193 million acres of our nation's forests and grasslands is uniquely critical and important and it's a mission we at Axon are proud to support."

USFS adoption of the Axon network represents an important milestone in Axon's entry into the federal civilian law enforcement market, which has more than 120,000 officers who are authorized to make arrests and carry firearms, according to the US Justice Dept.

Axon is a global network of devices, apps, training and people that helps law enforcement and public safety personnel become smarter and safer. With a mission of protecting life, our technologies give customers the confidence, focus and time they need to protect their communities. Our products impact every aspect of a public safety officer's day-to-day experience.

We work hard for those who put themselves in harm's way for all of us. To date, there are more than 397,800 software seats booked on the Axon network around the world and more than 220,000 lives have been saved with the Axon network of devices, apps, training and people. Learn more at www.axon.com or by calling (800) 978-2737.

Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc. and Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc.

Axon, Axon Body 2, Axon Evidence, Axon Signal, X26P and the Delta Logo are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information, visit www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.

Axon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/axon_federal

Axon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/

Please visit http://investor.axon.com, https://www.axon.com/press, www.twitter.com/axon_us and  https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/ where Axon discloses information about the company, its financial information and its business.

Carley Partridge
PR and Communications Manager
Press@axon.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-states-forest-service-is-first-federal-law-enforcement-agency-to-fully-adopt-the-axon-ecosystem-with-taser-weapons-body-cameras-and-axon-evidence-300926686.html

United States Forest Service is First Federal Law Enforcement Agency to Fully Adopt the Axon Ecosystem with TASER Weapons, Body Cameras and Axon Evidence

US Forest Service Adopts Axon Ecosystem

ARTICLE: Us Forest Service To Adopt TASER Weapons, Body Cameras and Axon Evidence

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Axon 2030: rethinking law enforcement

Data-Driven Decisions on Public Health Emergencies

Axon Body 3 in Action: Taking on “Terrorists” at Verizon’s and Nokia's Operation Convergent Response

United States Forest Service is First Federal Law Enforcement Agency to Fully Adopt the Axon Ecosystem with TASER Weapons, Body Cameras and Axon Evidence