With ever-growing public scrutiny regarding police-involved shootings, a Maple Plain company that manufactures weapons accessories is testing a miniature camera that attaches to the barrel of an officer's gun.
The 3.2-ounce, 3-inch-long camera sits in front of the trigger and activates video and audio as soon as an officer pulls the gun from the holster. The camera points in the direction the muzzle is pointed.
Several police departments have offered to try out the cameras as a pilot project, including the West Hennepin Public Safety Department that covers Independence and Maple Plain and a police department in Arizona.
"As we've seen, there have been a lot of high-profile incidents over the last few years where it's not really clear what happened, and this is meant to provide that missing piece of evidence," said Brian Hedeen, president of Viridian Weapon Technologies, the company that's making the camera that it has dubbed the Fact Duty.
The camera attachment also includes a small light, about the strength of a flashlight, that faces forward.
Production is about to begin on the cameras, and Hedeen said he hopes to have them in the hands of police departments to try out in October.
"[Viridian] asked if we would review the product," said West Hennepin Public Safety Director Gary Kroells. "We like the concept."
Kroells cited the July 15 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Neither of the responding officers' body cameras were on at the time of the shooting.