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‘Less lethal’ deaths: courts examine role of controversial police weapons before three Australians died

Exclusive: Police forces argue bean-bag and foam baton rounds are less harmful than firearms, but the projectiles have been linked to deaths around the world Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt least three people died within four months of one another after being shot with “less lethal” projectiles and stun guns at their homes, sparking a series of inquests and civil cases that could overhaul how police officers use force.Police forces have argued the projectiles – such as bean-bag and foam baton rounds fired from weapons similar to shotguns and other launchers – provide officers with a less harmful alternative to firearms. Continue reading...

[Composite of uniformed police.]

The use of the so-called ‘less lethal’ weapons in incidents that led to the deaths of three people in NSW and Victoria has come under scrutiny. Composite: Getty/AAP

‘Less lethal’ deaths: courts examine role of controversial police weapons before three Australians died

Exclusive: Police forces argue bean-bag and foam baton rounds are less harmful than firearms but the projectiles have been linked to deaths around the world

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At least three people died within four months of one another after being shot with “less lethal” projectiles and stun guns at their homes, sparking a series of inquests and civil cases that could overhaul how police officers use force.

Police forces have argued the projectiles – such as bean-bag and foam baton rounds fired from weapons similar to shotguns and other launchers – provide officers with a less harmful alternative to firearms.

But the projectiles have been linked to deaths around the world and critics have argued that their continued increase in police arsenal has not been matched by commensurate increases in accountability and oversight.

The use of the so-called “less lethal” weapons in incidents that led to the deaths of three people in New South Wales and Victoria has now come under scrutiny.

In July 2023, Mark Smith was shot five times with “less-lethal” projectiles and Tasered 14 times by police, a Victorian inquest has heard. His death came two months before Krista Kach was Tasered and hit in the chest with a bean-bag round from a “Super-Sock” shotgun fired by NSW police in Newcastle.

[NSW police forced to hand over ‘less lethal’ tactics manual to watchdog after woman’s bean-bag round death

Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/19/nsw-police-forced-to-hand-over-less-lethal-tactics-manual-to-watchdog-after-womans-bean-bag-round-death-ntwnfb)

Steven Woodhouse died that November after allegedly being shot with bean-bag rounds and a Taser in Reservoir, in Melbourne’s north, by the Victorian Critical Incident Response Team (Cirt) – the same police unit involved in Smith’s death.

Victoria police also faced at least two other recent court cases regarding injuries caused by “less lethal” projectiles fired at protesters.

A coroner planned to deliver findings into Smith’s death later this year and an inquest in Kach’s death was due to start on 2 March.

Meanwhile, Woodhouse’s older sister, Shaye Woodhouse, filed a supreme court case against the state in December, alleging the death of her 29-year-old brother was caused by catastrophic injuries inflicted by police.

Bean-bag rounds reintroduced

Kach’s family questioned why her death had taken so long to come before a coroner.

“In the time since our mum’s death and the date of the coronial hearing, there have been more cases,” the family said in a statement.

The family also questioned the use of “less lethal” weapons on their mother. “We had never heard of a bean-bag to be used on a woman experiencing a major mental health crisis before – and we had no idea they had plans to use it on her,” they said. “[Police] need serious reform on why and how they use any ‘less than lethal’ weapons.”

The postmortem report on Kach, 47, described the cause of death as a “gunshot wound to the chest”, after she was Tasered and hit with a bean bag-style round from a Super-Sock shotgun after a long standoff with police in Newcastle.

[Screen grab from live stream of Krista Kach]

The use of bean-bag rounds was suspended by NSW police after Krista Kach’s death but has since been reintroduced. Photograph: Livestream

“It would appear that the beanbag round, or the Super-Sock round as it’s known by the manufacturers, has entered the body of the deceased and ended up striking her heart, causing her death,” the NSW police acting commissioner, David Hudson, said at the time.

“It was a less than lethal option that was taken and unfortunately on this occasion, as it has done around the world on very few occasions, has resulted in a death.”

The use of bean-bag rounds was suspended by NSW police after Kach’s death but has since been reintroduced.

As part of a previous investigation into less lethal tools, Guardian Australia obtained records of use of force by NSW police since 2020. While the documents logged incidents where OC spray, batons and stun guns were used, projectiles were not included as a category.

In 2023, NSW police said that bean-bag rounds had been used in at least 15 high risk incidents but this was not included in the use of force statistics.

A year before Smith and Woodhouse died, the Victorian Cirt was savaged in a report by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission for inaccurately recording uses of force and acting inconsistently with the charter of human rights.

Separately, two protesters shot with projectiles in 2021 are also taking legal action against Victoria police in the county court.

Both alleged they were shot with little warning, causing wounds that required continuing treatment. One of the cases settled in December.

“The projectile left a wound the size of a 20c coin next to my spine which required surgery and has left an unsightly scar,” the protester whose case remains open said.

“I felt humiliated, degraded and was left questioning what I had done wrong.”

[Super-Sock Bean Bag shells]

In 2023, NSW police said that bean-bag rounds had been used in at least 15 high-risk incidents but this was not included in the use of force statistics. Photograph: Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

Robinson Gill lawyer Jeremy King, whose clients include people shot by Victoria police with Tasers or less lethal projectiles, said the weapons used were similar to those used by ICE in the US.

“There’s almost zero oversight over that type of weaponry, how they are using it and how much it costs,” he said.

A Victoria police spokesperson said bean-bag rounds had not been used since 2020 but could not comment on the deaths of Smith or Woodhouse.

The force has previously said publicly that it uses 40mm baton rounds in tactical operations, including at protests in 2025.

The police spokesperson said the civil case settled with the protester shot with a less-lethal round in 2021 was resolved after consideration of litigant guidelines that require the state to handle such claims fairly, promptly and consistently.

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