ACPC Staff Report
This story has been updated with a response from the Atlanta Police Department.
A senior Atlanta Police Department (APD) executive publicly encouraged other police agencies to adopt technology offered by Axon Enterprise, despite recusing himself from APD dealings with Axon due to a financial conflict of interest.
Axon manufactures Taser devices and body-worn cameras. Public records show that on Jan. 23, 2024, APD Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Marshall Freeman filed an ethics disclosure that stated that he had “an interest in a company that is currently in talks with Axon around acquisition and investment.” Freeman recused himself from “all financial matters and decisions that have financial impact for the vendor Axon.” Marshall’s disclosure stated that the matter came to his attention on Dec. 29.
All the city of Atlanta’s conflict of interest disclosures require those submitting reports to affirm the filer “did not and will not vote, discuss, decide, participate, or seek to influence others about the matter pending before me or the agency of which I am a member or employed.”
On Feb. 1, Axon announced that it acquired Fusus, the company that operates the Connect Atlanta surveillance program and markets “real-time crime centers” (RTCCs) to police departments across the United States. Axon previously bought a $21 million minority stake in Fusus in May 2022, and Axon’s annual report, published Feb. 27, states the company purchased Fusus’ remaining outstanding stock for $240 million.
APD Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Marshall Freeman is quoted boosting the RTCC technology in a press release about the Fusus acquisition Axon posted to its investor relations page:
“Real-time crime centers serve as indispensable assets for agencies, offering unparalleled insight and actionable intelligence in one open and unified platform…Their simplicity and effectiveness make them a force multiplier for enhancing efficiency and safety. By swiftly implementing these advanced centers for real-time crime monitoring and response, agencies can catalyze positive change within their communities. I wholeheartedly encourage all agencies to embrace this cutting-edge technology and experience its transformative impact firsthand.”
Freeman is the only public employee quoted in the press release, alongside the CEO of Fusus and an Axon senior vice president.
Fusus, which is based out of Georgia, is the second company Axon acquired over the last 12 months. Sky-Hero, a Belgian company that specializes in aerial and terrestrial drones, was acquired by Axon July 14, 2023.
“Great partners to Axon”
In emails obtained by the Atlanta Community Press Collective through the Georgia Open Records Act, Freeman boosted Fusus and Axon products to other agencies in Georgia and around the U.S. after Dec. 29, the date Freeman identified the conflict of interest.
On Jan. 9, Axon Senior Vice President Mike Wagers emailed Freeman and APD Chief Darrin Schierbaum to set up a time for the pair to provide feedback on the company’s My90 product.
Freeman “along with Chief Schierbaum, who are great partners to Axon, have agreed to provide feedback on the executive dashboard concept,” Wagers wrote. “Marshall was at the first CEO Summit where this was discussed. APD, btw [by the way], will be implementing Axon Records in the near future.”
On, Jan. 18, Lt. Brendon Barth of APD’s RTCC facilitated a “mutual aid request” allowing the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to “share [APD’s] department owned cameras with Athens-Clarke County PD and receive the same from their agency.” The proposal came in writing from Eric Maddox, a Senior Product Manager at Fusus. Freeman was copied on the email but does not appear to have replied to the conversation.
Lieutenant James Pauly of the Omaha, Nebraska Police Department wrote to Freeman Jan. 25 to thank him for allowing Fusus to share the APD’s RTCC information with his department for a similar, burgeoning program. Pauly inquired about whether APD has Fusus cameras in public housing projects. Freeman replied that Atlanta has no Fusus integrations in public housing, “although the team has a call with Atlanta Housing Authority tomorrow.” Freeman offered to “track the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting and circle in with any valuable info.”
Freeman joined APD at the end of 2022 after leaving his prior role as Chief Operating Officer of the Atlanta Police Foundation. He disclosed outside income from serving as a paid consultant for the APF in his 2022 ethics filing with the city of Atlanta. Also in that filing, Freeman disclosed his role as APF’s Chief Operating Officer “when the ground lease was executed” for the $110 million police and fire training project known as “Cop City.”
APD maintains multimillion-dollar vendor contracts to use Axon and Fusus technologies. Freeman’s former employer, APF, uses Fusus technology to undergird its Operation Shield camera program, which connects over 18,000 public and private cameras to APD’s Loudermilk Video Integration Center. An additional 20,000 cameras are registered in the program but not connected directly to the APD/APF network. Since July 2016, Axon has received at least $38 million in payments from the city, according to Atlanta’s Open Checkbook ledger, and in March 2023, the city council approved a 10-year contract for Axon’s services valued at over $90 million, with an optional two-year renewal valued at an additional $18 million.
APD responded to ACPC’s request for comment submitted to Freeman and said, “The appropriate ethics filings were submitted.”
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