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The ‘less lethal’ weapons Australian police don’t want you to know about
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Guardian
Posted: August 17th, 2026
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/20...
Projectiles that release powder designed to burn the eyes and throat. Flashbang grenades. Teargas. Launchers that resemble semi-automatic rifles. Often dubbed “less lethal”, these weapons can cause serious injuries or even death if misused – but they are deployed by police against crowds in Australia with little scrutiny. “All of these weapons can kill people,” says Rohini Haar, a medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights. Haar says there is “almost zero” regulation. In Australia, there are no nationally enforced standards for their use. In some states, police go to great lengths not to share what weapons they have or how they’re used. Contracts worth millions for these weapons are often with third-party distributors rather than the manufacturers, obscuring what police have access to. During coronial inquests, after baton rounds and other weapons may have contributed to deaths, Victoria police have sought suppression orders that bar media from describing any details of weaponry. Less lethal projectiles have been connected to deaths and a range of injuries around the world. After the protests that followed the death of George Floyd in 2020 at the hands of US police, doctors undertook a review of the injuries caused by less lethal weapons in Minneapolis. They reviewed up to 89 cases of people injured by police weapons in mid-2020 and found that much of the damage was to the head, neck or face – 16 patients had traumatic brain injuries.
Note: For more along these lines, read our concise summaries of news articles on police corruption and non-lethal weapons.
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