Report Prepared By:
Summary: Recently police officer recognized a suspect driving his vehicle. The suspicion eventually escalated into a chase which led police officers in pursuit of the vehicle. The hot pursuit eventually resulted in the suspect reaching a dead end on the west side of the Florida State University Panama City Campus. On reaching the dead end, the suspect began firing. The officers at the scene fired back and wounded the suspect who was later taken to hospital for treatment. However, the car is still at its final resting place, and investigations are still ongoing.
Scene Information: Considering that there was gunfire exchange between the suspect and officers, there were evident traces of bullet shot impacts on the suspects’ vehicle. Just like a body in a homicide scene, a vehicle involved in a criminal investigation can offer a lot of information relevant to the investigation. The vehicle has two bullet holes in the body of the car and several more on the car’s windscreen. One of the front lights of the suspects was missing but considering there were no broken glasses; it was probable that it was probably shattered on pursuit or at an earlier time. An initial glance at the vehicle depicts that the driver was either ignorant, reckless or in a hurry since he left it in a no parking zone. From taking a closer look at the vehicles interior, it was evident that one of the safety belts was destroyed. This is evident from the small red pieces of the safety belt. Therefore, one of the bullets probably found its way to the body of the vehicle shattering the safety belt on the back seat. However, an initial look at the vehicle doesn’t ascertain every probable thought of what transpired. To gain insight on what transpired, it is imperative to gather data behind each bullet defect.
Other than determining the projectile of force by observing the fractures, it is imperative to determine the sequence of force. Determining the sequence of force can also be attained by observing the radial fractures. The first shot’s radial fractures extend completely. However, any subsequent fractures from other shots will be cut off once they collide with previous fractures. From the windscreen of the vehicle, it’s evident that the point of impact was from outside the car. By observing the fractures, it is possible to identify the sequence of shots made on the windscreen (Chisum &Turvey, 2011).
However, it is important to note that determining the point of entry on a windscreen is more difficult because windscreens are made with a binding agent which make it difficult for the grass to crack hence completely inhibiting the creation of fractures (Hueske, 2006).
Narration: Bullet defect A is a perforating defect on the windscreen of a black and grey Impala. The defect is located approximately 22.5 inches horizontally to the door and 14.5” inches to the hood. On the other hand defect B is a perforating defect on the windscreen located 23.5” inches from the door and 23 inches to the hood of the car. Like bullet defect A and B, bullet defect C is also a perforating defect located approximately 31.5 inches from the side door and 26.5 inches horizontally to the hood. Bulled defect D is approximately 20 inches vertically from the door and 27 inches horizontally to the hood. Defect E is perforating exterior to interior approximately (22.5, 15.5). Defect F is perforating interior to exterior, approximately (32, 20.5).
Another important aspect to consider in this crime scene is the angle of impact (AOI). The angle of impact is determined by employing the use of a flight path trajectory kit which contains the necessary tools for measurement of the angle of impact. Tools such as flight path rods, angle finder, lasers, and cones were used to determine the AOI (Haag, 2006). The angle of impact for bullet defect B, D, and F are Eighty degrees, fifty-six degrees and fifty-six degrees respectively.
In addition to determining the location and angle of impact of the bullet defects on the windscreen, it is possible to determine the order of sequence of shots fired on it by observing the fractures present. To do this, we have to give all the points of impact a number. After that, on observing the radial fractures on the screen, I arrived at sequence 7, 6, 9, 8, 10, 11, 3, 5, 4, 2, 1.
Photos:
References
Haag, M. & Haag, L. (2011). Shooting incident reconstruction. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
Chisum, W. & Turvey, B. (2011). Crime reconstruction. Waltham, MA: Academic Press/Elsevier.
Haag, L. (2006). Shooting incident reconstruction. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Hueske, E. (2006). Practical analysis and reconstruction of shooting incidents. Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor & Francis.
