Williams Police Department Implements Viridian® FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Camera
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – November 12, 2018 – Viridian® Weapon Technologies announces that the Williams Police Department, located just west of Flagstaff, Arizona, has deployed the FACT Duty™ Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC™). Viridian and the Williams Police Department will hold a joint press conference on Wednesday, November 14 at 10:00 a.m. at police headquarters located at 501 West Route 66, Williams, AZ 86046.
The Williams Police Department was one of the first in the country to evaluate the FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Camera. To date, more than 400 agencies are in the process of testing, implementing and deploying the FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Camera.
The FACT Duty fits officer weapons and holsters and records automatically, providing an unobstructed view from the end of an officer’s firearm. The need for this product continues to be validated in current events throughout the United States.
“We’ve seen the need for something like this for a while,” said Williams Police Chief Herman Nixon. “We had a chance to test this product right away, and it makes sense for our department. What we like about it is the fact that we don’t need to retrain anyone, it records automatically and it provides visibility into an officer-involved-shooting if it occurs.”
Viridian has created an important new category for law enforcement with the introduction of the FACT camera. 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.
“Being able to announce the deployment by Williams is an important milestone for the department, the community and our company,” said Viridian President and CEO Brian Hedeen. “When you have a completely new product that creates a new category, the feedback and support from end users is critical. The trust Chief Nixon and his department have put in this product reaffirms our reasoning for bringing this to market. Current events point to the fact that body and dash cameras alone are inadequate. And everyone involved in an officer-involved-shooting deserves to know what really happened. Our WMCs provide an unfettered perspective for these and other use-of-force incidents.”
Easy 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. This results in significantly lower comparative data management costs. The WMCs fit on existing standard-issue firearms and fit seamlessly in multiple duty holster platforms. 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.
Body and dash cameras were not designed to capture officer-involved shootings. However, Viridian WMCs were designed specifically for this purpose.
Category Creation and Importance Today
The need for this technology was recognized several years ago. While the product was in development, events continued to unfold that only increased the urgency for Weapon-Mounted Cameras for police officers across America.
“As we closely monitor these events around the country along with the aftermath when affected parties do not believe justice was served, we realize that our solution cannot be implemented soon enough by more departments,” said Matthew Plowman, General Counsel at Viridian. “Much of the controversy in so many past incidents and trials was what the officer saw when pulling the trigger. The FACT Duty is a tool to provide objective evidence, both for potential legal proceedings and in helping the community understand what happened. Our WMC also aids police communication to the general public to help eliminate the uncertainty in officer-involved shootings that is the source of much conflict.”
More information on FACT Duty WMCs can be found at ViridianWeaponTech.com/FACT-Duty-Learn-More.
Interviews, video/digital assets and additional information are also available by contacting tim@murrayroadagency.com.
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.
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