U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- The Viridian Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC) provided the key evidence in the Wilbarger County, Texas trial of Walter Orellana for unlawful deadly force against a police officer. Viridian officials attended the trial where prosecution evidence was presented of the April 2019 incident in which Vernon, Texas Police Corporal T.J. Session was shot by Orellana while conducting a felony arrest warrant.
Session returned fire in the incident.
The Vernon Police Department had previously deployed Weapon-Mounted Cameras (WMCs) for all of its officers, and the Viridian WMC on Session’s firearm captured the incident. This video and audio footage was presented to the Wilbarger County jury on the first day of trial.
The dramatic evidence admitted from the WMC showed the defendant grabbing and pointing a sawed-off shotgun at the police officer during an exchange of gunfire. The jury viewed the detailed 1080HD quality video obtained from the unobstructed view of the officer’s firearm. One compelling moment was when the prosecution asked the officer involved to show the jury his duty firearm to display the WMC and demonstrate its Instant-On capability.
“It was vital that the Vernon PD had this evidentiary tool to provide the answers crucial to determining what happened in this unfortunate incident,” said Viridian General Counsel, Matthew Plowman. “This trial perfectly illustrates why Weapon Mounted Cameras are critical in police officer Use of Force incidents for agencies and municipal officials to allow the courts to determine the facts.”
Viridian President and CEO Brian Hedeen said, “This is a historic event. This is the first Officer-Involved Shooting in the world to be captured by a gun camera. We salute the heroic actions of Corporal T.J. Session, the other Vernon PD officers and all police officers across the country.”
Session’s testimony concluded the witness portion of the trial. The case is expected to be submitted for jury deliberation following closing statements.
Viridian General Counsel, Matthew Plowman, can be reached at 763-406-7808 for any inquiries regarding this case and the use of WMCs as evidence. 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.
How much do these things cost? Can a civilian purchase one? Are there holsters that fir the sidearm and the camera? Where can I get one?
Arm up, carry on.
DB, I looked a bit closer at the website. Two consumer versions.
https://viridianweapontech.com/products/cameras/consumer
$400-600 ea.
https://viridianweapontech.com/fact-duty-learn-more
The FACT is $800, but they haven’t gotten back to me on whether anyone can buy it.
UPDATE
They just called back. The main difference between the consumer and LEO versions is the software. The hardware is essentially the same. If you don’t want to have to mess with passwords and security to access the video, the consumer version should work just fine.
Thanks Dave. I have emailed them. This may be something we can use on the security detail.
Arm up, carry on.
DB, Kevin is the guy you want to talk to, the lady said that he’d be in on Monday. Give them a call and ask for him.
Thanks Dave.
Arm up, carry on.
DB: We are ALL civilians UNLESS we are active military or Military Police. THEN, the Goobermunt owns your hide.
Nice add-on, a bit expensive but would be cheaper than a long trial. Holster would no doubt be a problem or may alter gun selection quite a bit. Even a 5″ with full lower rail on my 1911 was hard to find a holster for, I imagine this would be worse.
If the pd is using them then they have a holster for them.
I bet ver has a list of partner holster makers.
When Viridian brought out this camera they used it to record video interviews and other advertising videos showing just how great the video could look — of course for that the camera was in a steady position mounted where it never moved. When it is mounted on a firearm in actual use, especially on a police firearm during a fight the video is very different. Viridian has a press release (which I am surprised wasn’t used here) talking about how this was the key piece of evidence to convict the criminal and how the jury watched it several times. I… Read more »
I purchased as a civilian, carried and it quickly broke at the battery clips, the units have a major design flaw, I returned my camera light under warrenty and they fixed, however it will break again, so I cant afford to carry and break every year, so it just stays on my rifle until the design flaws change.