Viridian Weapon Technologies
Texas Police Department Implements Viridian Gun Cameras
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – July 12, 2021 – The Somerville Police Department in central Texas has deployed the FACT Duty® Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC®) in the field. Somerville Police Chief, Jake Sullivan, and officials from Viridian Weapon Technologies will give a short news conference on the adoption on Wednesday, July 14 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time at the Somerville Senior Center 17510 TX-36 Somerville, TX 77879.
“It’s a challenging time in law enforcement,” said Somerville Police Chief Jake Sullivan, “and police leadership should make every effort to be transparent with the communities in which they serve. Should the Somerville Police Department experience an officer-involved shooting, I want to make every effort to be transparent to the citizens of Somerville.”
Somerville PD is the first department in central Texas and the ninth agency across the state to implement the WMC. I t will join hundreds of departments and agencies across the country taking an active role in protecting their communities with the WMC. Viridian has created an important tool for law enforcement with its Weapon-Mounted Camera. This technology 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 Somerville Police Department has recognized the need for unobstructed footage of critical encounters and the role such transparency can provide for understanding use of force events,” said Viridian President and CEO, Brian Hedeen. “Viridian’s WMC provides that clarity. The WMC is the only technology designed to capture an OIS from the unobstructed view of the gun, and footage from these WMCs continues to provide the critical evidence in court. Chief Sullivan and the Somerville Police Department are fostering the transparency and community relations we need to keep our towns and cities safe. ”
The Viridian WMC provided crucial evidence in an officer-involved shooting (OIS) trial in Vernon, Texas in 2020. The jury convicted the defendant of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public official. The WMC provided the critical evidence in the case by showing the defendant pointing a sawed-off shotgun at Vernon Police Corporal T.J. Session during an exchange of gunfire in which both Corporal Session and the defendant were shot and wounded.
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.
More information, including sample video and access to Somerville and Viridian personnel for comment, is available before or after the news conference by contacting Tim Brandt at tim.brandt@murrayroadagency.com or calling 763-291-9044.
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 accuracy, transparency, and ease-of-use innovations including green and red laser sights, LED weapon-mounted illuminators, gun cameras and several shooting accessories including the TacLoc® Holsters. Viridian products are designed and built in the USA.
More information is available at ViridianWeaponTech.com.
Media Contact
Tim Brandt
Viridian Weapon Technologies
tim@murrayroadagency.com
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