Photo courtesy of Digital Ally
Following a 60-day evaluation of the major body cameras on the market, the Evansville (Ind.) Police Department selected Digital Ally's FirstVu HD for its officers. Testing included evaluation of product durability, versatility, ease of use, battery life, video and sound quality, upload and download speeds, and the data storage requirements for a typical officer's daily shift.
Sgt. Jason Cullum says Evansville officers' biggest concerns are "that they are confident that if they have to record the very first thing they do at their shift, they will still have storage and battery at the end of their shift. We don't want a guy going, 'Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get something at 9:30 at night if I started at 3:30 in the afternoon.'"
Community leaders requested the cameras after Officer Jasen Clegg recorded an encounter when officers detained firefighter George Madison this summer. The video allowed investigators to see Clegg did not violate any policies despite claims of improper actions.
Digital Ally recently participated in the International Chiefs of Police (IACP) show in Philadelphia, where interest in the FirstVu HD was very strong, according to the company. "We have sold over 450 FirstVu HD units, including the Evansville order, since the new body camera was officially launched in July 2013, and the FirstVu HD is being tested and evaluated against competitive products by over 300 law enforcement agencies," says Stanton E. Ross, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Ally, Inc. "We have averaged over 20 new police agencies initiating test and evaluation programs per week, and based on an analysis of completed test and evaluation programs, our FirstVu HD has emerged as the top-rated system by a clear majority of the agencies performing the evaluations."
About Digital Ally, Inc.
Digital Ally provides a complete line of vehicle video systems integrated into a rear-view mirror, utilizing compact monitor controllers, or laptops/MDCs; compact video systems that may be worn or mounted; a digital video flashlight; and LIDAR handheld speed enforcement systems.