In today’s day and age, it’s critical that a LEO is equipped with a camera to record use-of-force incidents. Most departments provide their officers with Axon body cameras. Officers with the Moody Police Department in Alabama, however, will be hitting the streets with Viridian FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Cameras.
As the name implies, these cameras are securely attached directly to the end of an officer’s duty gun. Here’s a quick blurb from Viridian’s presser which outlines exactly what these cameras can do:
Viridian FACT Duty WMC
This unique Weapon-Mounted Camera provides an unobstructed view of critical use-of-force events from the end of the firearm, addressing limitations officers can face with body cameras. The highly advanced WMC employs a 1080p full-HD digital camera with a microphone and 500 lumen tactical light. Viridian’s proprietary Instant-On technology automatically activates the camera and microphone whenever the officer draws the firearm from its holster. Not only does this eliminate risk of failure to manually turn on the camera during a critical event, but it also keeps the officer from fumbling with cumbersome equipment.
Viridian claims that the FACT camera fits on most standard-issue firearms and fits in multiple duty holster platforms. The camera has a battery life of over three hours. They also incorporate secured data access and can easily be recharged, the company says.
Game Changer?
Like we said up top, Axon currently dominates this space, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Viridian FACT Duty WMC will be able to gain some momentum. The Moody Police Department is one of the first departments to adopt the camera. It’s also being tested in almost 200 other departments around the country.
“The Moody Police Department’s implementation of our WMC is an extremely important milestone,” Viridian President and CEO Brian Hedeen said. “This is a tremendous leap forward for policing. Current events point to the fact that body and dash cameras alone are inadequate, and because of this, nearly 200 police departments across the country are now in the process of testing and implementing FACT Duty WMCs in their departments. These WMCs provide an unfettered perspective for officer-involved shootings and other use-of-force incidents, and our products help show what really happened.”
Check out the videos above and below for more on the Viridian FACT Duty WMC system.
For more on Viridian, go to viridianweapontech.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9McguU8658
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