Legal Corner Blog

I have discussed in previous Blog entries that our biggest challenge at Viridian with our Weapon Mounted Camera is getting the word out. Particularly frustrating is encountering lack of knowledge that the solution exists, and for those who become aware of its existence, lack of understanding of even the basic beneficial features. The simplest of these features to grasp should be our Instant-On technology.

Viridian and the WMC is now finding itself in the middle of the 2020 Presidential Race politics.  The leading Democratic frontrunner after the latest Iowa presidential polls is Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

Life is often bookmarked by key “firsts.”  First date, first car, first job… At Viridian, we knew our first Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) involving a Law Enforcement Agency using our product was going to come at some point.  We believe and market our product on the basis that any officer involved shooting event that takes place is likely to demonstrate the value and necessity of Weapon Mounted Cameras.  But of course, nobody in law enforcement or within our Viridian team wants or hopes for such a tragic event to ever happen.  Furthermore, there is no way to predict or anticipate where or when such a tragedy is going to occur.  As Chief Legal Officer of the company, I have always had a small degree of anxiety about everything working as intended if and when that day comes.

Readers and website visitors, below is a Letter to the Editor that I sent to The Weekly Challenger news publication in response to a Letter to the Editor from Seville C. Brown III, the National Director of the National Christian League of Councils (NCLC) in September. Mr. Brown discussed what he believed is an unacceptable time frame for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida to test and implement a Body Camera program, now apparently over four years after the City made the decision to investigate the option.  As part of his commentary, Mr. Brown noted that St. Petersburg has been testing Weapon Mounted Cameras for the past year rather than body cameras.  He labeled WMCs “Police Death Cameras” having a sole purpose “to record your death or imminent death.”  We felt the need to respond.

As Viridian gets increasing publicity about the Weapon Mounted Camera, it is a challenge to avoid overreacting and the temptation to respond to any stated misconceptions about our product that come with that publicity. (Beggars can’t be choosers?) Our esteemed President & Founder, Brian Hedeen, recently did an entertaining and informative interview with KTAR Radio in Phoenix. The hosts, Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes, were engaging and well-prepared and displayed that they understood the key themes of our product. We greatly appreciated the opportunity for the large market reach provided. In my role at Viridian and against my better judgment, however, I cannot resist the temptation to respond to one of those misconceptions that was illustrated in the coverage.