Did you know that in 2009, the SA opposition leader, Liberal MP Isobel Redmond, let herself be tasered to prove a point? It sounds insane, but its true! The point she was trying to prove was that SA police should get tasers. This thread takes us down that rabbithole!
Let me take you back to the magical, mystical time that was 2008. At this time, tasers were, in many Australian states, used by all police officers. However, in SA, tasers remained limited to STAR (Special Tasks & Rescue) Group officers since 2003. This was to change in June 2008. A small trial would begin in 'two suburban local service areas', Elizabeth and the South Coast, as well as at Port Augusta, initially pledged for six months. Given to a limited amount of officers, they were only to be used in situations with people using a weapon. Despite the 6-month trial, Police Minister and MLC Paul Holloway, and Police Commissioner Mal Hyde, would both see it pertinent to begin talks of an expanded trial in September 2008. Hyde, in particular, would state this expanded roll-out was due to the 'weapons' effectiveness.
Although it seemed likely that tasers were to become a standard issue-'weapon' for SA police officers with relatively little fanfare, 2009 would see it become a hot-topic political issue. The Liberal Party, led by Martin Hamilton-Smith, would go all in regarding a push for general use tasers. Such a push would lead to some funny exchanges in parliament, as Holloway, who was cautiously pro-taser use, would fend questions from Liberal MLCs who were also pro-taser use. Such a reality can be seen in this Hansard transcript of a March 2009 parliament sitting.
Now, Hamilton-Smith would end up giving up the leadership of the SA Liberal party over poor polling, a bad by-election, and weirdest of all, accusing Labor of accepting Scientology donations based on documents he didn't realise were forgeries. He would be replaced by the aforementioned Redmond. Redmond, taking over in July, would immediately pick up on the trail of tasers. As the issue was debated in parliament and select committees, Redmond would decide on the ultimate publicity stunt. In October, she would offer herself up to be tasered, as to 'prove the worth' of tasers for the police. Such an offer led to hilarious news article titles, including "Taser me, says SA Opposition leader" by the ABC and "SA Liberal leader offers to be tasered", both titles leaving alot to the imagination as to why this person 'wants' to be tasered. Mike Rann, then-SA premier, was not impressed.
Now, a major roadblock would appear in the way of Redmond's offer. In November 2009, the SA police would be provided 300 tasers for 'high risk' cases. The issue was now a political non-factor. However, not one to be deterred by the small matter of reality, Redmond would push on. She'd accuse the government of being 'too slow' on rolling out tasers, since she pledged 500 tasers to the police, and would state that despite the rollout she was still going to get tasered. I'm not exactly certain why she wanted to continue, seeing as though there was no point to prove?
In any case, the big day would come on the 15th of December. Redmond, at the Liberal Party SA HQ, would be shot with a taser by ex-police officer George Hateley. Such a tasering would provide us with another hilarious, but detail-lacking title, "Liberal leader shot with Taser". According to Hateley, Redmond took the tasering like a champ. "She didn't fall down at all, and she didn't make a murmur." Meanwhile, Redmond rated the pain 9.5/10. The SA Government, still unimpressed, would state that "good government was about making the right choices, not about gimmicks."
Tasers, as a police weapon, have now become ubiquitous in SA. In 2014, rules would be changed significantly. While police were meant to keep their taser locked in their patrol car's boot, only for use against an armed offender, the 2014 changes would allow police to wear tasers on their belt. In addition to now keeping the tasers on themselves, SA police were now allowed to use the weapon on unarmed offenders as well. Training requirements remained, and remain, in place, but taser-use had essentially reached the 'logical' endpoint for police.
While Redmond was the first elected politician to willingly be tasered, such a 'stunt' had occurred previously in NSW. There, in 2006, now-disgraced police minister Carl Scully would get a volunteer, Raff Del Vecchio, to be tasered in parliament. Shame on Scully for not doing it himself.
That stunt, which caused uproar due to the bringing in of a weapon to parliament, has video evidence readily available (see here). Redmond's stunt though, despite readily available textual evidence, does not seem to have a video. Redmond has talked about the stunt in more recent years. She'd do an interview in 2010 (see here), as well as evidence of a Port'n'Talk, a type of sit-down interview event held at St Mark's College, from the St Mark's newsletter.
However, an Advertiser article from 2010 claims, "the Tasering was eventually done in private at Liberal Party headquarters on Greenhill Rd, and not even people in the next room knew it was happening." As such, perhaps a video does not exist at all? Despite this, a friend of my claims to remember watching the incident as a kid, it being one of their 'formative' political memories. In any case, Redmond was tasered, and despite the hilarity around the event, I don't think it ever did much for, or against her, politically.
To end, I am putting a small request out there. If anyone happens to have the video, or knows of its existence, I would be incredibly grateful for it/the information! Of course, it may very well not exist, in which case, I still hope you enjoyed this SA history thread!
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