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July 29, 2004
Police Prevent Suicide with the Aid of Bullard Tacsight Thermal Imager
Wilkes County, North Carolina
Chief Mike Bumgarner in Wilkes County, North Carolina, received a phone call at about 8 p.m. Sheriff Dane Mastain had requested the assistance of a Bullard Tacsight thermal imager in a sensitive, dangerous incident.
“I went to the scene, and it was a suicide situation,” Chief Bumgarner said. “A man had gone into a wooded area and had been there since 3 p.m., threatening to kill himself. His son had gone looking for him and found him there in the woods, and he called 911.”
Chief Bumgarner used the Bullard Thermal Imager to monitor the man’s movements and the position of the rifle he held, protecting the officers on scene and assisting them in gaining control. Several times the suspect stood up and directly addressed the officers, at one time threatening to shoot them if they didn’t leave him alone.
By 11 p.m., the man moved from his position and started through the woods, followed by five department officers and Sheriff Dane Mastain. Chief Bumgarner navigated with the aid of the TI, helping the group negotiate their path and follow the suspect over the dark, unknown terrain.
Chief Bumgarner explained the events leading to the arrest of the suspect. “He went into a pasture and sat at the trunk of a white pine, holding the rifle to his chest. Unknown to him, the sheriff had positioned himself under a pine about 30 feet away. Deputy Chris Shew was trying to talk the subject down, moving a few inches closer every few minutes. We were three hours from daylight, and the moon was coming out from under the clouds. We knew the Sheriff’s position would be revealed.”
After sitting for three hours under the tree while Deputy Shew moved in, Sheriff Mastain illuminated the suspect with his flashlight, surprising him and distracting him from the surrounding officers. Deputy Shew rushed the subject and tackled him, removing his gun. Other deputies moved in to assist with the capture.
“We were able to keep track of exact movements on the scene with a thermal imager, as the man moved through the woods and into the pasture,” Chief Bumgarner said. “Although it was dark, we knew the exact location of all the officers involved throughout the eight hours I was on scene with the TI. Deputy Shew was in command, and I communicated with him all I knew about positions of the sheriff and the suspect, which helped officers gain control of the situation.”
The TACSIGHT thermal imager is a valuable law enforcement tool for tracking suspect’s movements while maintaining the safety of the officers on the scene!
For more information on Bullard Tacsight's thermal imager, please visit www.bullard.com/tacsight
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