Freedom vs. Safety: Axon CEO Rick Smith on the Future of Policing
Axon CEO Rick Smith tells the story of building Taser and the body camera business. He makes the case that drones, robots and cameras can make policing safer if strong privacy safeguards come with them.
The gist
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Smith started Taser in a Tucson garage in 1993, failed with consumers for seven years, then pivoted to police in late 1999.
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After a 2005 SEC probe and short-seller attack dropped the stock from $33 to $7, Smith says fighting lawsuits hard left Axon with zero litigation.
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Smith quotes a union leader: no cop wants a body camera until wearing one for 90 days, then they won't patrol without it.
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Smith uses Ring at home and says Axon's Ring partnership lets owners share crime video with police without letting police freely browse cameras.
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Smith predicts drones and robots with non-lethal weapons, saying humans will always decide on force, with real-time approval from multiple people.
"I actually had a car stolen from my house years ago and it took me days. I had to get a technician to come download the video from this like homegrown camera system. I couldn't get it to the police for days. I have Ring now because I do want to be able to share it if something..."
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"I actually had a car stolen from my house years ago and it took me days. I had to get a technician to come download the video from this like homegrown camera system. I couldn't ..."
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