Canyon County Sheriff’s Office introduced the VIDMIC to our patrol section in September. Anyone who works with cops knows how well we embrace change. There was mumbling and grumbling. Now, four months later, the VIDMIC has been pretty widely accepted throughout patrol. Excellent videos get shared with other deputies – gaze nystagmus tests where you can see the subject’s eyes bounce, a combative DUI at the hospital, a house fire where the deputy was the first person on scene, a suspect who was violating a no contact order being pulled out of a crawl space under the victim’s house – and more people buy into the idea of the VIDMIC.

The VIDMIC has cleared two citizen complaints since we’ve begun using them. Both complaints were about deputies allegedly being rude to someone. After reviewing the video, one person said “it seemed worse than that at the time,” and dropped his complaint. It is easy to see the potential when an excessive force, or other, more serious, complaint is lodged. To outfit our patrol and STEP units, our administration paid approximately $22,000. The investment is going to pay for itself on the first lawsuit

For court, the VIDMIC is going to be the deputies’ best friend. Most charges that have VIDMIC video to go with them haven’t yet made it to trial. We have had preliminary hearings waived, however, after the defense viewed the video.

On traffic stops, the VIDMIC looks right into the violator’s car in most instances. When you watch the video, you see nearly the same view you saw when you were on the stop. Things like child safety seat violations can be easily documented. The audio is very clear. Unlike a pocket recorder, everything said by the driver is easily heard when you play back the video

The VIDMIC’s potential is enormous. Videos can be used as training or supervisory tools, as well as clear citizen complaints and be evidence for court. Documenting people on scene, in their normal state, will help combat the image they present to the jury after they’ve cleaned, and/or sobered, up. The potential decrease in civil liability stands by itself as a reason for officers to wear the VIDMIC. We need to step up and protect ourselves. Wearing a VIDMIC can do just that.

Sgt. Tami J. Faulhaber
Canyon County Sheriff’s Office
Caldwell, Idaho

Two of our officers were sent to respond to a report that a man and a woman were walking down the middle of a road pushing a stroller. The citizen who called in the report said the people appeared to be intoxicated and the citizen was concerned about the child’s safety.

The officers arrived on the scene and found a male and a female pushing a stroller down the middle of the street. The officers moved the male, female and the baby to the side of the road. They ascertained that both the man and the woman were under the influence of drugs. The officers called an ambulance because they were concerned about how impaired both people appeared to be. They also called the Division of Family Services who came and took the baby into protective custody. The man and woman were arrested.

Several weeks later, the man and woman came to my office wanting to file a complaint against the officers who had arrested them. They said the officers had been rude and had hurled racial slurs at them. They said the woman had been in serious condition medically, but the officers did nothing to help. They said the officers should have called an ambulance for the female. They accused the officers of “ripping” the baby from its mother’s arms and of knocking the man to ground. I asked if they were sure about these charges and if they really wanted to file the complaint? They said they did.

Because the officers involved in this incident were wearing VIDMICs, we were able to show the man and woman a video of the entire incident. The video showed the officers acting in a completely professional manner; no rude behavior, no racial slurs. It documented that they did, in fact, call an ambulance so the woman would have immediate medical care. The baby is clearly not ripped from the female’s arms and the male, at no time, was knocked to the ground. This man and woman were then arrested for filing a false report.

Lt. Sam Liddiard
American Fork, PD
American Fork, Utah

We purchased two of the Vid-mics from your company in June (2007) of this year and we are very pleased with the results so far. We only purchased two to start with so we could evaluate their effectiveness in the field as well as in court.

What we have found is that the Vid-mic records exactly what the officer is seeing as he approaches a vehicle or enters a building or home. It records clearly both the audio and video and also allows the officer to communicate with dispatch by using his handheld radio.

A recent case where the Vid-mic will prove to be invaluable is a case of a sexual assault of a 7-year old girl. My officer was dispatched to a fight early one morning. When he arrived he found the suspect in the hallway along with four other people. The suspect had blood on him, and the witnesses told the officer that they had caught the suspect on top of the 7-year old victim with his pants down and the victim's pajama bottoms down. These statements and evidence are all recorded on the Vid-mic very clearly and helps to identify the suspect and witnesses to the crime as well as the emotions. There was a lot of crying and the mother was very upset, which will be extremely helpful in a jury trial. It also shows the suspect as being uncooperative and very intoxicated. After the suspect is arrested and the officer is taking him out of the building the suspect continues to talk about how he was holding the victim and just trying to calm her down. However, he also states that the witness that caught him tried to grab his private area which is consistent with the witness statements that his pants was down

All of this is recorded on the Vid-mic and unlike a dash cam in the vehicle it also has the suspect on video as he makes these admissions. Because of this evidence, the suspect pled guilty in January and is now serving his sentence.

I would highly recommend the Vid-mic to any agency as a must purchase for their officers. It will pay for itself very quickly in decreased court time for their officers.

JP Semrad
Oneida County Sheriff
Malad, Idaho

This is an excellent value when taken in context with the cost of defending the department against one frivolous lawsuit or complaint against this police department. The adoption of this technology will require officers to learn new procedures but this will not be an onerous task. Further, the usage of this technology will ensure that officers are conducting themselves in the most professional manner possible; knowing they themselves will be accountable for their actions and behaviour on videotape.

Mike Klein-Beekman (Cst)
C-Platoon
Oak Bay Police Department
Victoria, BC

We have had the vid-mics in service for six months. The picture and video quality is excellent. Patrol officers appreciate having a digital camera and video capabilities with them at all times. The durability of the vid-mics and the ease of use make them a great tool for law enforcement personnel.

Lt. Randy D. Leng
St. Joseph Township Police Dept.
St. Joseph, Michigan