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The investigation into police Taser safety

5/3/202616 min

The nation was shocked when 95-year-old Clare Nowland died after being tasered by a NSW police officer at an aged care facility in 2023. 

While police forces defend their policies and training, there are concerns that officers draw the weapon too quickly, not just when danger is imminent. 

There’s also a controversial medical diagnosis called “excited delirium” that’s been used to explain why it’s not the device that’s causing deaths. 

Are the devices really as safe as their maker insists?

Today, reporter Grace Tobin on her Four Corners investigation into the multi-billion-dollar Taser industry. 

Featured: 

Grace Tobin, ABC investigative reporter

Clips

Cardiologist vs. Taser Safety Claims
Inside Australia’s Most Controversial Case
Tased 13 Times, Still 'Safe'
Are Police Over-Relying On Tasers?
Training, Policy, And Real-World Use
Family’s Lingered Questions On Training

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 00:00

    [upbeat music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.

  2. Fran Kelly· Soundbite0:05

    [pensive music] Hello, I'm Fran Kelly, and every day on the Radio National Hour, I take a deep breath and dive in.

  3. Speaker 20:14

    If you can have a chip implanted in your brain to help control traumatic memory, then all you have to do is drop the adjective traumatic, and it can control memory.

  4. Fran Kelly· Soundbite0:23

    And he said, "Oh, well, we'll, we'll just take your stomach out." And in my head, I was like, "How do you live without a stomach?"

  5. Speaker 3· Soundbite0:28

    [laughs] We're a funny species, Fran. You know, I think we're the only animal who seems to be hellbent on their own destruction.

  6. Fran Kelly· Soundbite0:33

    So if you want to know how to live without a stomach or more about David Wenham's ideas for world peace, come find me on the Radio National Hour, right here on ABC Listen.

  7. Sam Hawley· Host0:42

    [pensive music] The nation was shocked when 95-year-old great-grandmother Claire Nolan died after being tasered by a New South Wales police officer at an aged care facility in 2023. So are police turning to tasers too often? And are the devices really as safe as their maker insists? Today, investigative reporter Grace Toibin on her Four Corners report into the multi-billion dollar taser industry. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal Land in Sydney. This is ABC NewsDaily.

  8. Unknown speaker1:29

    [pensive music]

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