FLIR technology onboard police helicopter aids in capture of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tsarnaev
WILSONVILLE, Ore., 22 April 2013. Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging technology from FLIR Systems in Wilsonville, Ore., employed on a police helicopter provided law-enforcement personnel with their first glimpse of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as he lay in a tarpaulin-covered boat in a residential neighborhood in Watertown, Mass., last week.
"Our helicopter had actually detected the subject in the boat. We have what's called a FLIR, forward-looking infrared device, on that helicopter," explained Massachusetts State Police Col. Timothy Alben on an NBC News broadcast last week. “It picked up the heat signature of the individual, even though he was underneath what appeared to be the 'shrink wrap' or cover on the boat itself."
A Watertown, Mass., resident reported having seen a ladder on the side of a boat stored in his backyard to local police. Police deployed a helicopter equipped with an infrared camera developed by FLIR Systems Inc. to confirm that Tsarnaev was in the boat and still alive following a gunfight. The FLIR image revealed the body of an individual inside the covered boat and his movements, monitored with the advanced imaging technology, are said to have revealed that he was injured but alive.
The Massachusetts State Police acquired the FLIR Systems imaging device years earlier, reveals a FLIR Systems executive.
Courtney E. Howard | Chief Editor, Intelligent Aerospace
Courtney enjoys writing about all things high-tech in PennWell’s burgeoning Aerospace and Defense Group, which encompasses Intelligent Aerospace and Military & Aerospace Electronics. She’s also a self-proclaimed social-media maven, mil-aero nerd, and avid avionics and space geek. Connect with Courtney at [email protected], @coho on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on Google+.
