Hiawatha Police Department Selects Viridian® Gun Cams to Capture Police Shootings

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – October 24, 2019 – The Hiawatha Police Department is the first department in the state of Iowa to deploy the FACT Duty™ Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC™) from Viridian Weapon Technologies to all of its sworn officers. Hiawatha joins more than 500 other agencies who are in the process of testing and implementing the Viridian WMC since it became available last year.

“Body cameras can be obscured during confrontations, but an officer’s gun is out front where it is less likely to be blocked,” said Hiawatha Police Chief Dennis Marks. “All of our full-time officers and two reserves will use the new cameras to help ensure that a full recording will be made of any incident when officers draw their weapons.”

Viridian’s WMC has rapidly become a vital tool for law enforcement. This advanced device provides an unobstructed view of critical use-of-force events from the end of the firearm, addressing limitations officers can face with body cameras. Body and dash cameras were not designed to capture officer-involved shootings. However, Viridian WMCs were designed specifically for this purpose.

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.

“Our FACT Duty is truly standalone—and the need it fills in law enforcement is so important,” said Viridian President and CEO Brian Hedeen. “We’ve been able to get this in the hands of so many departments, and seeing the difference it makes is encouraging. The FACT Duty WMC is the only product specifically designed to capture officer involved shootings (OIS).

“The technology achieves this in a manner that is not cost prohibitive, requires no manual step or extra training in the field, doesn’t add to administrative duties or processes and even provides a tactical advantage to officers. At Viridian, we pride ourselves on our independence and our innovation—and we’re extremely pleased that Chief Marks and the department of Hiawatha has approved the use of this critical recording device.”

Easy Purchase and Implementation

FACT WMCs do not require the purchase of supplemental equipment or services and are designed exclusively to answer the needs of today’s officers. The WMC generates just a small fraction of the data to manage compared to other law enforcement recording options because it only records when the officer’s weapon is drawn.

After the purchase of the WMC, there are no maintenance fees, monthly charges or other significant expenses required. This results in significantly lower comparative data management costs than other evidentiary camera systems. The FACT Duty is a one-and-done solution for law enforcement administrators and purchasing departments.

The WMCs fit on existing standard-issue firearms and fit seamlessly in multiple duty holster platforms, making it easy for implementation by any law enforcement agency. The cameras feature a recording time of over three hours to handle virtually any scenario. They also incorporate secured data access and are easily rechargeable.

More information on FACT Duty WMCs can be found at ViridianWeaponTech.com/FACT-Duty-Learn-More.

About Viridian Weapon Technologies

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Viridian Weapon Technologies is devoted to applying cutting-edge technology to design compact, powerful self-defense products for the civilian, military and law enforcement markets. Viridian is the leader in weapon-mounted technology and responsible for a number of firearm innovations including green and red laser sights, LED weapon-mounted illuminators and several shooting accessories including the TacLoc® Holsters. Viridian products are designed and built in the USA. More information is available at ViridianWeaponTech.com.

Published at: 10-24-2019

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