MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – July 1, 2019 – The Salem, Illinois Police Department has deployed the FACT Duty™ Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC™) from Viridian® Weapon Technologies to all of its sworn officers. Viridian and the police department of Salem will hold a joint press conference on Tuesday, July 2 at 10:00 am at the Salem City Hall located at 101 South Broadway Avenue, Salem IL, 62881.
The FACT Duty fits standard police duty 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 explored body cameras, but ultimately chose Weapon-Mounted Cameras,” said Police Chief Sean Reynolds. “We found out about these [FACT Duty WMCs] while researching body cams. I was intrigued and ordered one unit for our department to test.
“We used it in several low-light, no light and other scenarios and really liked the performance. The video is clear and the audio is great. I pitched the FACT Duty to the council because of the limited data storage required, lower initial costs and the fact that there won’t be an obstruction if we have an officer-involved shooting.”
Viridian created an important category for law enforcement with the introduction of the FACT camera. This advanced 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. Over 500 agencies have been in the process of testing and implementation of the Viridian WMC since it became available last year.
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 happy Chief Reynolds has supported and the City of Salem has approved something so important to modern policing.”
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.
Body and dash cameras were not designed to capture officer-involved shootings. However, Viridian WMCs were designed specifically for this purpose.
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.