Shortly before 6:00 p.m. on December 30th, Patrol Officers Matthew Busenbark and Mark Stites were dispatched to an address on a report of a suicidal man who had cut himself and then left the residence. Upon arrival, they discovered blood on the floor and a suicide note. By this time it was after dark and temperatures were below freezing. The officers immediately began searching the wooded park nearby with their flashlights. Unsuccessful and realizing time was ticking away, they called for Patrol Officer Adam Doran to respond with the Bullard TacSight Thermal Imager.

After arrival, Officer Doran and Officer Busenbark began searching the wooded park with the thermal imager. Within five minutes of searching, officer Doran located a heat source within the park about 200 yards away. “If we would have found the man without the TacSight, it would have taken at least two hours of intense and exhaustive searching. Due to the fact that we had no blood trail or good foot prints to follow, it’s highly possible that we wouldn’t have found the man,” said Officer Busenbark. The officers discovered the man lying in a thicket of grass at the base of a tree. His right wrist was cut deeply and bleeding severely. Officer Doran put the man in handcuffs and retrieved the box knife the man had used to cut himself, while Busenbark provided covered.

The man was treated by members of the Bonner Springs Ambulance Crew and taken to Providence Medical Center in Kansas City. “The TacSight was definitely an asset above all other tools that could have been used for this incident,” said Officer Doran. “It literally saved us hours in search time and in this incident made the difference between locating an injured man and recovering a body.”

The Bonner Springs Police were honored for their effective use of thermal imaging at a city council meeting on February 25th. The Bonner Springs Police Department is the first department in Kansas to be recognized and the fourth department to be recognized since the program began. The Bullard S.O.A. R. program recognizes the effective use of thermal imaging technology by law enforcement officers who have used the Bullard TacSight to apprehend a felon or suspect or to save the life of a civilian or fellow officer. Well done Bonner Police!

Tip of the Month
Tip#: 002
Be Prepared...
Often in the world of policing, time is not on our side. Utilizing good search techniques with the awesome tool of Thermal Imagery is a great way to get more productive search time on our side. It’s always a good idea to have a TI in the hands of patrol officers ready to go at a moments notice. They call patrol “the backbone of the department” for a reason. Patrol is ready anytime anywhere!