LAKEPORT >> “It”s like CSI comes to Lake County,” Don Anderson, Lake County district attorney, said after watching a new investigation tool in action.
The remark came after the Lakeport City Council observed a demonstration of a 3-D crime scene laser scanner on Tuesday during the body”s regular meeting.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously approved a request from the DA”s office to purchase a Faro Technologies 3-D Laser Scanning System at its March 18.
The laser will be used in post crime scene investigations and court presentations. The system scans 360 degrees horizontally, 180 degrees skyward and 80 degrees downward. It is then able to recreate the area electronically.
With the new system, a video of a crime scene can be used to provide re-enactments of the crime, allowing investigators to study the incident from different angles in detail. It would also allow juries to see the re-enactments from the viewpoint of each witness in a case.
“We can put animated figures into a crime scene to recreate crimes,” Anderson said.
Currently, the system is being used in a case regarding the attempted murder of a Clearlake Police Officer, Anderson added.
The 3-D scanning system is also capable of measuring lines of sight, bullet trajectory and blood splatter up to 2/1000 of an inch. Investigators can use the technology to instantly analyze evidence from witness accounts and indications at the scene.
“It saves us time because this stuff would have taken us hours up hours of time,” LPD Officer Angie Bell said.
The scanning system cost $66,000, with an additional cost of nearly $6,000 annually for updates and calibration.
The Lakeport and Clearlake police departments contributed a total of $15,000 for the purchase, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
