ShotDot — Technology That Works For The Shooter

Some commonly used technology has limitations. Despite the best efforts, existing tools may not “hear” or “see” gunshots. The hostage negotiator community has documented instances of their equipment not “hearing” a gunshot. Body-worn Cameras may not be physically oriented to catch the shot’s firing.

What if the “witness” to an officer-involved shooting gave an intentionally false statement? They claimed the officer fired two or three shots, then ran up to the suspect, stood over them, and fired several more rounds—executing the suspect. Their lies about the sequence of shots and the officer’s actions have reached reporters. Those claims are then being broadcast and reported. A tool that could easily confirm or deny those statements would be valuable in the current environment.

 

What if there is a difference in the number of shots fired between the officer’s public safety statement, their interview, and the physical evidence at the scene?

What if there were a way to capture those shots? A noninvasive tool that did not require the officer to activate anything? That documentation would be down to the thousandths of a second.

ShotDot

There is. Enter the group at ShotDot – an Ogden, Utah-based company.

They developed a device that records the recoil impulse associated with firing 9mm ammunition through a pistol. The tamper-resistant device rides inside the firearm and does not require the shooter to take any action before or during the event.

 

A 1632-coin cell battery powers the device. Once assembled, it mounts in the gap at the rear of the grip on Glock’s 9mm frame pistols. After inserting it into the frame, you secure it in place with a set screw.  With the battery inserted, the device is going to record all shots fired by that handgun.

Data

The stored data is read via a Bluetooth-connected reader that looks like a large thumb drive. That drive is then connected to a Windows-based machine (sorry, I know, I use a Mac too). Once the reader is connected, the data migrates into its software and is read. In the event of multiple officers being involved, the software will collate and sync all of it, giving the agency a much clearer picture of what happened and when. With the timing of when those shots were fired, ShotDot also identifies the sequence in which they were fired. Everything can be displayed visually in a graph.

In an era when claims of officers firing “too many” shots are common, and that total looks worse when multiple officers are involved, seeing the start and stop points of shooting down to the thousandths of a second has a significant benefit for the officers, the agency, the investigation, and the community.

All the data is encrypted for both transfer and storage. The data set is tamper-resistant as well.

What Does It Fit

Currently, the ShotDot is only available for mid- and full-size double-stack Glocks. As of this writing, it will not work with the G26, G43, 43X, and 48 frames. However, the company is working on re-designing the product to fit other firearms. Unfortunately, some designs do not lend themselves to its use.

When I first saw a Glock with the ShotDot, I noticed a similarity to Tango Down’s grip plug. The grip was plugged with a protruding extension that looked like a partial mag well. In other words, the device can assist shooters with seating a magazine during a reload.

Use

For several months now, I have taught classes and practiced with the ShotDot installed in a G45. First, I never noticed it was there, and second, it did not interfere with or affect my use of the pistol.

Are there other uses for this?

Training? Maintenance?

It took decades before Glock told end users what the service life of their parts was. Armorers had to guess a fair amount about the parts replacement cycle. ShotDot will supply your armorers with the information they need – part X is failing at this round count, so we need to replace it here. Or, we are not seeing parts G, H, and I fail at all, which means we do not need to stock as many of them.

Drawbacks?

Can it break? Yes, there have been a couple of instances of the ShotDot breaking. Those shared with me involved defensive tactics training with an unloaded pistol. The lack of a magazine caused the ShotDot to break off along the frame line. Rather than using “live” but unloaded firearms for arrest and control, I would suggest “blue guns” for that role.

Additionally, the system has recorded a few false positives. Those events happened when some trainers enthusiastically engaged in dry practice, hand-cycling the slide hard and fast enough to trip the recording mechanism. There have not been any known instances of false positives during an actual event.

There have already been multiple officer-involved shootings where the data was used in the subsequent investigations. Several local and state agencies in Utah are using it.

Final Thoughts

It does not require the officer to take any action before or during an event. The information it records—how many shots were fired, by whom, and when—is quickly available.

For agencies that supply training ammunition, its use by officers can be accounted for.

Rather than guessing at round counts for repair and replacement, your organization will get solid data on when parts need to be replaced.

Seeing the Shot Dot’s benefits, I would want one if I were still a working cop. When models become available for the firearms I carry and teach with, I will buy and install them. I wholeheartedly recommend this technology.

Caveat

I do have long-standing relationships with one of the employees and another individual with ties to the company.

 

RESOURCE:

ShotDot USA