The Kemah Police Department has announced the approval and planned implementation of the FACT Duty™ Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC™) from Viridian® Weapon Technologies. Viridian and the police department of Kemah will hold a joint press conference on Thursday, March 21 at 9:00 am at the Kemah Community Center (Jimmie Walker Community Center) located at 800 Harris Avenue, Kemah, TX 77565.
In addition to Kemah, there are more than 50 departments in Texas currently using the FACT Duty WMC. Nationally there are over 400 agencies testing and implementing this new technology.
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.
“At Kemah, we try to be innovative,” said Police Chief Chris Reed. “So if there is a product out there that is going to benefit our officers as well as benefit our residents by adding transparency, then we’re going to jump all over it.
“We have tested and approved the FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Camera and plan to implement upon securing funds. This technology supports and protects our officers and brings transparency into the highest profile event an officer may experience.”
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.
“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 Kemah 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.
Just last month, the Vernon Police Department became the first department in the state of Texas to complete implementation of the FACT Duty from Viridian—the leader in Weapon-Mounted technology.
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.