Technology

1. Technology Peak, Chp. 14 ...\technology\stunned terrorist.wmv...New York taser deaths.WMV...Taser San Jose.wmv...Pepper Ball\Pepper ball.wmv...corner shot.wmv...Hollywood cameras.wmv...red lights and robbery cameras.wmv...GPS,DNA burg inv. video in court.wmvRanger LBPD K-9.wmvGPS, Child Molester.wmvHS fight pepper spray.wmvPolice car cameras.wmvTaser saves.wmvTaser deranged man.wmv

2. Less-than-lethal weapons

3. US Department of Justiceuse-of-force continuum • Verbal commands • Use of hands • Chemical agents, baton or other impact weapon • Canine • Less-than-lethal projectiles • Deadly force Where would electrical devices go?

4. New-age weaponsin wide use • Pepper spray • Pepper balls • Impact munitions • Stun guns and Taser™

5. Pepper spray • Inflames mucus membranes, causes severe, highly distracting irritation for up to twenty minutes • Generally minor residual effects • North Carolina study of suspect injuries before/after pepper spray began to be used • Pepper spray is usually effective • Reduced number of assaults on police • Reduced citizen complaints of excessiveforce • Study of 63 prisoners who died after theuse of pepper spray • Two of the 63 deaths (both asthmatics)were caused or made more likely by theuse of pepper spray • Pepper spray seems much less effectiveon persons under influence of drugs

6. Pepper Ball Guns • Fire small, hard plasticballs that shatter on impactand expel atomized pepper spray • Air powered, can cause welts andserious injury if balls directlystrike a person, which is anear-certainty as usually manyshots are taken (guns can firefull-auto) • Guns are expensive,up to $2,000 each • Not a close-in weapon

7. Impact munitions • Knockdown • Shotguns are the most common delivery method • Bean bag • Plastic batons (e.g., “rubber bullet”) • NIJ study of 373 incidents with 969 projectiles fired (65% beanbags, 28% plastic batons) • 782 injuries, with 80% minor bruises and abrasions • Three and one-half percent of hits resulted in broken bones • One and one-half percent of hits penetrated the skin • Eight deaths • Police are trained to fire at center body mass (chest/abdomen) • Increases likelihood a suspect will be hit • Causes more severe injuries, especially at closer distances

8. Stun guns and Tasers • Electrical shock incapacitates byinducing involuntary musclecontractions • Stun gun – probes pushed against suspect • Taser™ - shoots two darts up to 20 feet

9. Atlanta Police End StandoffWith Crane Climber Reuters, 5/28/05 SWAT team members used a Taser to arresta Florida murder suspect who tried to evadepolice by climbing atop a crane. Carl Roland,41, was taken into custody without furtherincident. “We got him into a position wherewe could effectively utilize the Taser in asecure environment without any risk of harmto Mr. Roland” said police. Roland is a suspect in the strangulation of hisformer girlfriend, Jennifer Gonzalez, whosebody was found in a pond behind herClearwater, Florida apartment earlier thisweek. The fugitive’s actions drew the attention of media from around the world. Some Atlanta residents also showed up with signs reading “Jump”.

10. A “stunned” terrorist July 27, 2005, Birmingham: Yasin Omar, positively ID’d as one of the would-be bombers in the second wave of attacks six days earlier was arrested in an early a.m. raid. He was subdued with a stun gun.

11. Tasers – the good andthe bad • Advantages • Subdue violent or resisting persons without using deadly force • Reduce injuries to officers and subjects • Concern • Can make the application of force excessively simple or enticing • Are Tasers always “less than lethal”? • Manufacturer accused of making exaggerated claims of safety and effectiveness • May cause heart attacks if persons are agitated, under influence of drugs or have pre-existing medical problems • NIJ-funded study of stun guns and Tasers is underway

12. Tustin Man Dies afterTaser hit A burglary suspect died after Tustin police officers shot him twice with a Taser when theyfound him inside an unoccupied apartment thatwas littered with glass from a break-in. Richard Alvarado, 38, was apparently under theinfluence of drugs and uncooperative when hewas shot with the weapon. In October 2003 a 40-year old Moreno Valleyman died after being shot twice with a Taser by Brea police. A lawsuit against the city and the device manufacturer, Taser International, is pending. Taser, which claims the product is safe, reports that it is presently defending against eleven wrongful death lawsuits connected with its use. Although police chiefs are aware of the controversy most Orange County law enforcement agencies continue to use the device, which they feel is very useful. City News Service and OC Register, 5/23-25/05

13. CBS 2 N.Y.: Taser-attributed deathsin New York City KPIX 5 S.F.: Taser deaths and injuries in Northern California 11/30/05: Seven months after a Santa Clara grand jury urged agencies to develop guidelines for using Tasers, San Jose PD issued rules discouraging officers from using the weapons against handcuffed suspects, pregnant women, elderly persons and children.

14. K-9 • Track, flush and arrest(“bite and hold”) • Search for weapons,drugs, explosives • Deterrence andintimidation • Instances of excessive application and misuse • Use against civil rights marchers and anti-war protesters • Image issue, particularly in minority communities

15. Corona Police KillAssailant in CinemaAfter a foot chase through traffic,a man wielding a knife runs insideand patrons flee. L.A. Times, 5/5/05 Corona police officers respondingto a 9-1-1 call shot and killed a man inside the Edwards Corona 15 movie theatres. Officers first encountered the suspect behind a store, trying to slit his wrists with a butcher knife. Although police fired a Taser and several rounds from a beanbag shotgun the man got away, ran to an intersection and unsuccessfully tried to carjack a vehicle. Officers then chased the man to the theatre. A Corona police spokesperson said the man was shot because he posed a threat to officers.

16. Less-than-lethal weapons – considerations • Availability • Type of call • Number of officers available • Speed of response • Stability of scene • Suspect actions • Presence of real or potential victims

17. Surveillance aids

18. Surveillancevideo cameras • Excellent opportunity to capture evidenceof crimes • Present in many businesses and publicvenues • Archival (after-the-fact) • Real-time monitoring • Interpretation issues • Fixed positions • Audio not permitted • Image quality issues • Low frame rate and resolution • Little maintenance • Tape preservation issues • Privacy concerns

19. Police car cameras • Same advantages andlimitations as fixedsurveillance cameras • Cannot be “on” all the time • Automatically activatedduring traffic stops • Can capture audio from officer microphones • Expensive to purchase, install and maintain • Issue – do they promise more than what is realistic?

20. Cell phone tracking • When cell phones are on they areelectronically connected to a tower. • Privacy concerns • Movements of cell-phone customers can be tracedafter-the-fact through their telephone calls. • Permanent electronic record of towers used • Can often be done on written demand to a carrier by a law-enforcement agency, or on issuance of a subpoena • No search warrant necessary • No probable cause determination required • Real-time movement can also be captured when cell phones are “on” (calls not required) • Generally same guidelines • A few courts are imposing search warrant/probable-cause requirements

21. GPS –Global Positioning System Replaces or supplants difficult andexpensive physical observation Economic and practical benefits • Major limitation: location, not observation • Should mere presence be sufficient? • Is there a difference between being present in a school parking lot and at Hobby City?

22. DNA

23. Murder of husband and mother of Federal judge • On Feb. 28, 2005 the husband and mother ofFederal judge were found shot to death in theLefkow’s Chicago home • Suspicion was immediately placed on right-wingmilitants against whom Lefkow had ruled on a civillawsuit. A huge investigation got under way. • Three days later a West Allis, Wisconsin patrol officer pulled over Bart Ross for suspicious activities. • Ross, an unemployed electrician and cancer victim, committed suicide. • In Ross’s car was a note in which he confessed to the shootings. He was angry at Judge Lefkow for dismissing his civil lawsuit against medical providers. • Ross’s DNA was matched against DNA on a cigarette butt left behind in the Lefkow residence.

24. DNA in Girl's Tears Pointto Killer, D.A. Says AP, 3/21/2005 • According to the prosecutor, DNA fromSamantha Runnion’s tears was found in aninside door of the vehicle used by heralleged killer, Alejandro Avila. More DNAmaterial was found on the vehicle’s centerconsole and in scrapings taken from thevictim’s fingernails. • Samantha was kidnapped in July 2002 while playing in front of her home with a friend. Her body was found the next day. She had been sexually assaulted, then suffocated. • In an unrelated case, Avila was acquitted in 2001 of molesting two girls.

25. DNA – what is it? • Molecules that carry genetic information specific for each person • Present in tissue, hair, bodily secretions (e.g., sweat) and fluids (e.g., blood, urine, saliva) • Arranged in two strands that spiral • Each strand contains a sequence of “bases”, the chemicals Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine • Bases are bound across strands, but only in these “base pairs”: AT G C The only difference between people is in the sequence of these “base pairs” biology.washington.edu

26. DNA analysis • Actual sequence of base pairs fully identifies a particular person • Cannot be used to match (there are too many base pairs in someone’s DNA!) • Each person inherits repetitive sequences of 20-100 base pairs (VNTR, variable number tandem repeats). These can be matched.

27. Types of DNA • Nuclear: DNA from a cell’s nucleus. It has the complete DNA sequence and has been accepted in Court as positive ID. • Mitochondrial: from a cell, outside the nucleus. Much m0re abundant than nuclear DNA but has only part of the DNA sequence. • Cannot be used as positive ID but can rule out persons as a source • No general rule allowing its use in Court • Used in Scott Peterson trial: One hair found in his boat was linked to his mother-in-law (both share a DNA sequence that is present in 1 out of 112 Caucasians). • YSTR: from the “Y” chromosome, found only in males. • Cannot be used as positive ID • Useful in sex assaults when female DNA obscures other DNA sequences.

28. Considerations • Results can be a match, elimination or inconclusive • One dissimilarity (foreign VNTR pattern) eliminates • Probabilities can range from 1 in 20 to less than one in a million • Errors • Degradation through heat, light, moisture, bacteria • Band shifting • Contamination (coughing, sneezing, skin flaking) • False negatives seem more common (need only one dissimilarity to exclude)

29. DNA Interpretation is Subject to Error Virginia Governor Orders Review of150 DNA Cases by Crime Lab NY Times, 5/7/05 An error in examining the DNA of semen found in a rapevictim, which nearly led to the execution of the wrongperson, led Virginia’s governor to order a completereview of all cases handled by the lab’s director,Jerry Ban. The lab had twice failed to identify thetrue donor of the semen found in a victim even thoughthe person responsible for the crime was a convictedserial rapist. Auditors from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors sharply criticized the Virginia lab, once thought to be the nation’s finest, for caving in to pressures from the State’s former Governor to quickly solve cases. Earl Washington, Jr.Innocent but nearly executed

30. AFIS – Automated Fingerprint Identification System

31. FingerprintComparison • Compare pattern (loop, arch, whorl) • If similar, then compare minutiae (where ridges start, stop and separate) • Islands, dots, bifurcations,ridge endings • Set number of points (6-15) mustbe identical in type and locationwith known print to make apositive identification • “Locations” found as on a mapand by counting ridges

32. AFIS • Most local jurisdictions send two copies of arrestee fingerprint cards to a State repository • One copy is forwarded to the FBI • Most States and the FBI digitize these cards and store them in a computer database • Fingerprints of detained individuals and fingerprints (even partial) recovered at crime scenes can be checked on these databases • Fingerprints are digitized • Computer reports close “hits” to existing fingerprint images • A fingerprint examiner then makes a microscopic comparison

33. Automated FingerprintIdentification System (AFIS) • Old system required having a 10-print card on file • Questioned print compared to card • New system – AFIS • Digitizes 10-print cards from arrested persons • Digitizes crime sceneprints • Compares both, looking for possible matches • Final match must be done in the conventional way, by comparing minutiae

34. NIBIN – National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

35. Bullets –individual characteristics • Excepting shotguns, barrels are rifled to impart spin on a bullet • Different gun makers have different rifling schemes • Different numbers of lands (raised area) and grooves • Rifling process creates imperfections inside the barrel, unique for each gun • Can transfer unique markings to bullets • Compare known bullets fired on recovered gun with questioned (recovered) bullets

36. Cartridge casings –individual characteristics • Loading and extraction process will cause unique marks and scratches on shell casings • Firing pins may cause unique markings on primer • Face of the breech may cause unique markings

37. NIBIN – National IntegratedBallistic Information Network • Using a gun leaves unique markings on bullets and cartridge casings • These markings are scanned into a computer and stored in a database • Bullets and cartridge casings recovered from crime scenes • Bullets and cartridge casings test-fired through seized guns • New digital images are compared to those already in the database • Any close “hits” are reported by the computer • A technician then makes a microscopic comparison • If there are sufficient points of identification it can be said that: • Different bullets or cartridge casings are from the same weapon • A bullet or cartridge casing is from a specific weapon • Presently 182 law enforcement agencies participate in the program • No national database – not all-inclusive • LAPD, LASD and Cal DOJ have the equipment • Many success stories

38. Comparison example • Confirmationrequiresindividualmicroscopic comparison