Lakeland Police Capt. Ron Bowling, Jr. (left) displays a firearm holster bracket designed and fabricated by Mike Kalman (right), mechanical engineering fabrication specialist at Florida Polytechnic University, and mechanical engineering graduate Matthew DeCicco ’24. The patent-pending design helps trigger an officer’s body camera when it detects that a firearm has been removed from its holster.
Mechanical engineers at Florida Polytechnic University have put their skills to the test for the Lakeland Police Department, inventing a device to help make turning on their body cameras effortless in situations when they must draw their firearm.
The patent-pending device is now worn on the holster of every Lakeland police officer.
“I want to thank the incredible team at Florida Poly for their partnership in developing this innovative solution for our agency that enhances safety and functionality,” said Chief Sammy Taylor. “This collaboration is a perfect example of the remarkable talent and ingenuity we are fortunate to have here in Lakeland.”
Matthew DeCicco ’24, the device’s primary inventor, and Mike Kalman, Florida Poly fabrication specialist and its secondary inventor, were tasked with designing and producing a strong, slim bracket to securely fasten to an officer’s firearm holster. The device would trigger an existing Axon sensor to activate the officer’s body camera the moment a firearm is pulled from its specially-designed holster.
Kalman said the existing holsters and mounting brackets could not accommodate the advanced technology outfitted on the department’s weapons, making the system challenging to use.
“This is the high-tech solution for the high-tech gun,” Kalman said. “Our bracket locks up tightly against their holster, so it’s close enough that a magnet can detect the metal of the gun releasing. Once they pull the weapon away, a light goes from green to red, and their body camera sensor clicks it on.”
The Bluetooth-activated sensor that is triggered when a weapon is pulled from a holster equipped with the new bracket can also alert police car cameras to begin recording, as well as tell other officers in the area that someone has just pulled their weapon.
After an intensive design process, DeCicco and Kalman 3D-printed more than 400 brackets utilizing filament made with strong carbon fiber, providing officers with a dependable tool for daily use in the line of duty.
“It was cool to get to represent Florida Poly on a larger scale and help out the community where the University exists,” said DeCicco, now an aeromechanical engineer at AEVEX Aerospace in Tampa.
Florida Poly is seeking patent protection for the device, which is currently patent pending with initial testing underway.
“We wanted something that works with our existing system that can trigger the Axon body camera any time a taser is turned on,” said Capt. Ron Bowling, Jr., who led the effort on behalf of the police department. “They did just an amazing job.”
The Lakeland Police Department partnered with Florida Polytechnic University engineers
when it needed a custom-designed holster bracket to ensure officers’ body camera systems
worked as they should. Mike Kalman, Florida Poly mechanical engineering fabrication
specialist, and mechanical engineering graduate Matthew DeCicco ’24 designed and produced
the patent-pending bracket now in use. From left, Lt. Frank Fitzgerald, Capt. Ron
Bowling, Jr., Kalman, and Chief Sammy Taylor.
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Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
